Togo at the 2014 Winter Olympics | |
---|---|
IOC code | TOG |
NOC | Comité National Olympique Togolais |
in Sochi | |
Competitors | 2 in 2 sports |
Flag bearer (opening) | Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean |
Flag bearer (closing) | Alessia Afi Dipol |
Medals |
|
Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |
The West African country of Togo competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, held from 7 to 23 February 2014. It was the nation's first appearance at the Winter Olympics. The Togolese delegation consisted of two women athletes in two sports: Alessia Afi Dipol in alpine skiing Petitjean was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony, while Dipol was the flag bearer for the closing ceremony. Neither athlete was able to secure a medal in their Olympic debut.
Togo made its first appearance at the Summer Olympics in 1972, but it had never sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics prior to 2014. [1] [2] Togo has a tropical climate and a temperature range of 22 to 32 °C (72 to 90 °F). [3] Accordingly, the two athletes of the Togolese delegation were not from Togo.
Alessia Afi Dipol was naturalised as a Togolese citizen just prior to the games. Born and raised in Pieve di Cadore, in Veneto, Italy, Dipol has no familial connections to Togo. [4] She explained that she chose to represent Togo because her father owns a clothing factory in the country. [5]
Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean, meanwhile, was born in Niger to a Togolese mother and spent the majority of her life in Haute-Savoie, France, where she learned to ski. Petitjean's maternal lineage allowed her the opportunity to compete for Togo. The Togolese Ski Federation contacted Petitjean via Facebook in March 2013 and asked her to compete for the country at the Winter Olympics, to which she agreed. [6]
Both athletes qualified through the Olympic quota allocation system. [7] Petitjean was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony, while Dipol was selected as the flag bearer for the closing ceremony. [8] [9]
Alessia Afi Dipol was 18 years old at the time of her Olympic debut in Sochi. [4] In the first run of the women's giant slalom race, held on 18 February, Dipol placed 60th with a time of 1 minute and 31.66 seconds. In her second run, she placed 53rd with a time of 1 minute and 31.14 seconds. She ultimately finished 55th out of 74 competitors in the event, with a total time of 3 minutes and 2.8 seconds. [10] [11] She did not finish the women's slalom race, held on 21 February, after starting the first run. [12]
Athlete | Event | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
Alessia Afi Dipol | Women's giant slalom | 1:31.66 | 60 | 1:31.14 | 53 | 3:02.80 | 55 |
Women's slalom | DNF |
Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean was 19 years old at the time of her Olympic debut in Sochi. [6] [13] She competed in the women's 10 kilometre classical race on 13 February. She finished 68th out of 75 competitors with a time of 37 minutes and 26.7 seconds, nearly ten minutes behind the winner Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland. Despite her finish, Petitjean expressed hope that her appearance at the games would inspire other African youth to participate in winter sports. [14]
Athlete | Event | Final | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Time | Deficit | Rank | ||
Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean | Women's 10 km classical | 37:26.7 | +9:08.9 | 68 |
Togo has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games held since 1972 except for 1976 and 1980, which they boycotted, winning their first Olympic medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics when Benjamin Boukpeti won bronze in the K1 kayak slalom event.
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Alessia Afi Dipol is an Italian-Togolese alpine skier who competed for Togo at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in the slalom and giant slalom. Dipol also originally competed for India between 2011 and 2013, but she later switched to compete for Togo even though she has no familial connections to the country, so she could qualify to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She also chose to represent the country because her father owns a clothing factory in Togo.
Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean is a French-Togolese cross-country skier. She competed for Togo at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the 10 km classical race. Petitjean finished in 68th place in her only race out of 75 competitors, nearly ten minutes behind the winner Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland. Petitjean hopes that her appearance will help to inspire the youth of Africa to participate in winter sports.
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