Ghana at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Last updated
Ghana at the
2018 Winter Olympics

Flag of Ghana.svg

IOC code GHA
NOC Ghana Olympic Committee
in Pyeongchang, South Korea
9-25 February 2018
Competitors 1 in 1 sport
Flag bearer Akwasi Frimpong [1] (opening & closing)
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)

Ghana competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018. Netherlands-based Akwasi Frimpong was the country's sole athlete, competing in the skeleton event.

Ghana Republic in West Africa

Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km2 (92,099 sq mi), Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south. Ghana means "Warrior King" in the Soninke language.

2018 Winter Olympics 23rd Winter Olympics, Pyeongchang (S. Korea) 2018

The 2018 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as PyeongChang 2018, was an international winter multi-sport event that was held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea, with the opening rounds for certain events held on 8 February 2018, the eve of the opening ceremony.

South Korea Republic in East Asia

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and lying to the east of the Asian mainland. The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo which was one of the great powers in East Asia during its time, ruling most of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, parts of the Russian Far East and Inner Mongolia, under Gwanggaeto the Great. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone and has a predominantly mountainous terrain. It comprises an estimated 51.4 million residents distributed over 100,363 km2 (38,750 sq mi). Its capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of around 10 million.

Contents

Background

Jerry Shaib Ahmed was the chef de mission of the Ghanaian delegate to the 2018 Winter Olympics. [2] Netherlands-based Akwasi Frimpong was the sole athlete who qualified for the skeleton event of the Games by virtue of ranking within the top 60 of International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation's mid-January 2018 rankings.

Akwasi Frimpong is a Dutch-Ghanaian sprinter, bobsledder, and skeleton athlete who has won four bronze, four silver, and eight gold medals in various national and international sport events. Frimpong, who was raised in Ghana, moved to the Netherlands at the age of 8 and started running when he was 15. In 2003, he became the Dutch National Junior Champion in the 200 meter sprints, which earned him the nickname ‘GoldenSprint.’ To qualify for the Olympics, Frimpong switched nationalities and sports, and represented Ghana in skeleton. Frimpong qualified for the 2018 Olympics in skeleton by obtaining a near-automatic invitation by virtue of continental representation, being the only athlete representing the African continent in skeleton, despite a low ranking.

He became the second Ghanaian to participate in the Winter Olympics after alpine skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong participated in the 2010 edition in Vancouver. [3] Frimpong was the first Olympian from West Africa to participate in the skeleton event as well as the first black Olympian to represent an African country in the sport. [4]

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, nicknamed "The Snow Leopard", is a Ghanaian skier and is the first person from Ghana to take part in the Winter Olympics, which he did at the 2010 Winter Olympics Vancouver, British Columbia. taking part in the slalom. He finished 53rd out of 102 participants, of whom 54 finished.

2010 Winter Olympics 21st edition of Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver (Canada) in 2010

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Vancouver 2010, informally the 21st Winter Olympics, was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 12 to 28 February 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the surrounding suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands, and in the nearby resort town of Whistler.

Vancouver City in British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2016 census recorded 631,486 people in the city, up from 603,502 in 2011. The Greater Vancouver area had a population of 2,463,431 in 2016, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada with over 5,400 people per square kilometre, which makes it the fifth-most densely populated city with over 250,000 residents in North America behind New York City, Guadalajara, San Francisco, and Mexico City according to the 2011 census. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada according to that census; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Roughly 30% of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city.

While the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) secured a monthly $1,500 allowance for Frimpong, Ghanaian chef de mission Ahmed looked for corporate sponsors to fund an additional $57,000 needed for Ghana's participation in the Games and reasoned that the Ghanaian government was already burdened due to time constraints. [2] Local firm, "Cocoa from Ghana" donated $25,000 to the GOC. [4]

Ghana Olympic Committee

The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), formally known as Gold Coast Olympics Committee was established in 1951 and recognized the following year by International Olympic Committee. The Ghana Olympic Committee is committed to developing, organizing, and protecting Olympism or the Olympic Movement throughout the country. And ever since participating in the Summer Olympic Games in 1952 and the Commonwealth Games in 1954, during the Gold Coast period, the organization has been responsive to promoting the ideals of both Games, with respect to the ordinances set fourth by the Olympic Charter as well as the constitution of the CGF.

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors participating at the Games per sport/discipline.

SportMenWomenTotal
Skeleton 1 0 1
Total 1 01

Skeleton

Ghana qualified one male skeleton athlete. This marked the country's Winter Olympics debut in the sport. [5] [6]

AthleteEventRun 1Run 2Run 3Run 4Total
TimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRank
Akwasi Frimpong Men's 53.973054.463053.6930Eliminated2:42.1230

See also

Ghana at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics

Ghana participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6 October to 18 October 2018.

Ghana at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Ghana competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia from April 4 to April 15, 2018. It was Ghana's 16th appearance at the Commonwealth Games.

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Switzerland at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Austria at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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France at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Italy at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Latvia at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Latvia competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 34 competitors in 9 sports. They won one bronze medal in two-man bobsleigh and ranked 28th in the medal table.

Romania at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Romania competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 27 competitors in 8 sports.

Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Great Britain competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 58 competitors in 11 sports. They won five medals in total, one gold and four bronze, ranking 19th in the medal table.

China at the 2018 Winter Olympics

China competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018. China competed in 12 sports, participating in bobsleigh, skeleton and ski jumping for the first time. Liu Jiayu won a silver medal in Women's halfpipe, the first ever medal in snowboarding for China. Gao Tingyu won a bronze medal in the Men's 500m speed skating event and became the first male speed skater from China to win a medal in Olympic speed skating. Wu Dajing won a gold medal in the Men's 500 m short track speed skating event and became the first male short track speed skater from China to win a gold medal in Olympic short track speed skating. He also broke the world record. With Beijing being the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics, a Chinese segment was performed at the closing ceremony. Those 2022 Winter Olympics will make Beijing the first city to host both a Winter and Summer Olympics, after they hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. China won 9 medals in total.

Belgium at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Brazil at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Croatia at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Monaco at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Nigeria at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Jamaica at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Jamaica competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with three competitors in two sports.

The men's skeleton event at the 2018 Winter Olympics took place on 15 and 16 February at the Alpensia Sliding Centre near Pyeongchang, South Korea.

References

  1. ↑ "Opening Ceremony Flagbearers - Olympic Winter Games, PyeongChang 2018" (PDF). olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Ghana needs $57,000 for PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games - CDM". Ghana Web. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Shaban, Abdur Rahman Alfa (18 January 2018). "Ghana's skeleton athlete qualifies to participate in 2018 Winter Olympics". AllAfrica.news. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Cocoa from Ghana headlines Ghana's participation of 2018 Winter Olympic Games". GhanaWeb. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Quota Allocation PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games 2018 - Men's Skeleton - IBSF 14 January 2018" (PDF). IBSF.org. International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Winter Olympics 2018: African athletes to make history in Pyeongchang". BBC Sport. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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