Africa at the 2010 Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics are on the horizon and I am keeping track of African athletes who will compete in Vancouver. Since snow is thin on the ground, money is tight and training facilities scarce, it takes an awful lot of determination to make it to the Winter Olympics as an African. It should come as no surprise then, that the athletes representing 7 African nations no less, are a colorful bunch with some very interesting stories.

Ghana will be competing in their first Winter Olympics. Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong (aka "The Snow Leopard") managed to get enough points to qualify by racing in Iran, Bosnia and Turkey. He wears a dazzling leopard print suit to match his dazzling smile. He saw snow for the first time at the tender age of 22. He's a self-taught, self-financed skier, and has been training hard for 5 years. No doubt about it, he's going to be a hit in Vancouver.

Ethiopia's Robel Teklemariam has been training on roller skis at home while waiting for his Canadian visa to come through. Philip Boit of Kenya will compete in his fourth Winter Olympics. Last year his farm in Kenya burned down. With the help of fellow Olympic athletes he managed to raise enough money to rebuild, just in time for his retirement. This will be his final shot at a medal. Samir Azzimani of Morocco was sent to a holiday camp in the French Alps as a foster child, where he learned to ski. At the age of 10 he was back in Morocco with no real chance of skiing ever again. But a determined Samir worked his way back to France in his late teens and will finally realize his Olympic dream at the age of 32.

None of these African athletes are expected to medal, but all deserve our applause. Find out more about Africa at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

_{Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, "The Snow Leopard" Ghana's first Olympic Skier -- © Getty Images/Mike Hewitt}