Tropical nations at the Winter Olympics

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The team from Ghana during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics. 2010 Opening Ceremony - Ghana entering.jpg
The team from Ghana during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In 2014, Michael Christian Martinez became the first Filipino, the first Southeast Asian, and the first male figure skater from a tropical country in the Winter Olympics, as well as the first Philippine Winter Olympian in 22 years. 2012 World Junior FS Michael Christian Martinez3.jpg
In 2014, Michael Christian Martinez became the first Filipino, the first Southeast Asian, and the first male figure skater from a tropical country in the Winter Olympics, as well as the first Philippine Winter Olympian in 22 years.

Several tropical nations have participated in the Winter Olympics despite not having the climate for winter sports. Partly because of that, their entries are a subject of human interest stories during the Games. [1] [2] [3] No tropical nation has ever won a Winter Olympic medal.

Contents

The first warm-weather, but not fully tropical, nation participating in the Winter Olympics was Mexico. Much of Mexico is at a latitude north of the Tropic of Cancer, and most of the country has a subtropical highland or semi-arid climate, so it is not exclusively a tropical nation. Nonetheless, Mexico made its Winter Olympic debut at the 1928 Winter Olympics [4] with a five-man bobsleigh team that finished eleventh of twenty-three entrants. [5] Mexico did not return again to the Winter Games until the 1984 Winter Olympics. [6]

The first truly tropical nation to compete in the Winter Olympic Games was the Philippines, who sent two alpine skiers to the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. [7] Ben Nanasca placed 42nd in giant slalom skiing (out of 73 entrants), and Juan Cipriano did not finish. In slalom skiing, neither skier was able to finish. Costa Rica became the second tropical nation to participate at the Winter Games, in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, [8] where Arturo Kinch also competed in alpine skiing events. Kinch would continue to compete for Costa Rica at three more Winter Games, including the 2006 Winter Olympics at age 49. There he finished 96th in the 15 km cross-country skiing event, ahead of only Prawat Nagvajara of Thailand, another tropical nation. [3] [9]

The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada attracted many tropical nations, including Costa Rica, Fiji, Guam, Guatemala, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. [10] The Jamaica bobsleigh team became a fan favorite at these Games [11] and were later the inspiration of the 1993 motion picture Cool Runnings . In the 1994 Winter Olympics six years later, the Jamaican four-man sled placed a creditable fourteenth, ahead of the United States and Russia, while Jamaican-born bobsledder Lascelles Brown won silver for Canada in 2006.

The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy marked the Winter Games debut of Ethiopia [2] and Madagascar. [12] The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada saw the debut of the Cayman Islands, Colombia, Peru, [13] and Ghana. [14] The 2014 Winter Olympics saw the debut of Dominica, Paraguay, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, and Zimbabwe. The 2018 Winter Olympics saw the debut of Ecuador, Eritrea, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Singapore. The 2022 Winter Olympics saw the debut of Haiti.

List of participating tropical nations

World map with tropical latitudes highlighted in red World map torrid.svg
World map with tropical latitudes highlighted in red
World map with tropical climates highlighted in red Klimagurtel-der-erde-tropen.png
World map with tropical climates highlighted in red

This list of nations includes those that lie entirely or predominantly[ clarification needed ] within the tropical latitudes and also have a mostly tropical climate according to the Köppen climate classification system. Years of Winter Olympic Games participation are shown.

Africa
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon  (CMR)2002
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea  (ERI)2018–2022
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia  (ETH)2006–2010
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana  (GHA)2010, 2018-2022
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya  (KEN)1998–2006, 2018
Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar  (MAD)2006, 2018–2022
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria  (NGR)2018–2022
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal  (SEN)1984, 1992–1994, 2006–2010
Flag of Togo.svg  Togo  (TOG)2014–2018
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe  (ZIM)2014
 
Americas
Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia  (BOL)1956, 1980–1992, 2018–2022
Flag of the British Virgin Islands.svg  British Virgin Islands  (IVB)1984, 2014
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil  (BRA)1992–2022
Flag of the Cayman Islands.svg  Cayman Islands  (CAY)2010–2014
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia  (COL)2010, 2018–2022
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica  (CRC)1980–1992, 2006
Flag of Dominica.svg  Dominica  (DMA)2014
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador  (ECU)2018–2022
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala  (GUA)1988
Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti  (HAI)2022
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras  (HON)1992
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica  (JAM)1988–2002, 2010–2022
Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1986-2010).svg  Netherlands Antilles  (AHO)1988–1992
Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay  (PAR)2014
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru  (PER)2010–2014, 2022
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico  (PUR)1984–2002, 2018–2022
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago  (TTO)1994–2002, 2022
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela  (VEN)1998–2006, 2014
Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  Virgin Islands  (ISV)1988–2006, 2014, 2022
 
Asia-Pacific
Flag of American Samoa.svg  American Samoa  (ASA)1994, 2022
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji  (FIJ)1988, 1994, 2002
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam  (GUM)1988
Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga  (TGA)2014–2018
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong  (HKG)2002–2022
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia  (MAS)2018–2022
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines  (PHI)1972, 1988–1992, 2014–2022
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore  (SGP)2018
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand  (THA)2002–2006, 2014–2022
Flag of East Timor.svg  East Timor  (TLS)2014–2022

Other warm-weather nations (located in the subtropics, for example) that have competed in the Winter Games include Australia (which has a tropical far north, and became the first Southern Hemisphere nation to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 2002), Bermuda, Chinese Taipei, Eswatini, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay and several North African nations including Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.

Tonga sought to make its Winter Olympic debut at the 2010 Winter Olympics by entering a single competitor in luge, attracting some media attention, but he crashed in the final round of qualifying. [15] Two years later, he attracted media attention again when it was discovered he had altered his name to that of one of his sponsors, a lingerie firm, as a marketing stunt. He was, at that time, in training to attempt to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics. [16] [17]

Notable winter Olympians from tropical nations

Philip Boit was the first Kenyan to participate in the Winter Olympics. 2011-02-27 Philip Boit 01.jpg
Philip Boit was the first Kenyan to participate in the Winter Olympics.
Lamine Gueye, the first Black African skier to take part in a Winter Olympics. Lamine Gueye.jpg
Lamine Guèye, the first Black African skier to take part in a Winter Olympics.
NameNationSport
Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea alpine skiing
Anne Abernathy Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  Virgin Islands luge
Simidele Adeagbo Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria skeleton
Seun Adigun Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria bobsleigh
Bruno Banani Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga luge
Judd Bankert Flag of Guam.svg  Guam biathlon
Iginia Boccalandro Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela luge
Philip Boit Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya cross-country skiing
Lascelles Brown Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica [nb 1] bobsleigh
Edson Bindilatti Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil bobsleigh
Roberto Carcelen Flag of Peru.svg  Peru cross-country skiing
Pedro Causil Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia speed skating
Karen Chanloung Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand cross-country skiing
Mark Chanloung Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand cross-country skiing
Isabel Clark Ribeiro Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil snowboarding
Mialitiana Clerc Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar alpine skiing
Cynthia Denzler Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia alpine skiing
Alessia Dipol Flag of Togo.svg  Togo alpine skiing
Erroll Fraser Flag of the British Virgin Islands.svg  British Virgin Islands speed skating
Akwasi Frimpong Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana skeleton
Yohan Goutt Gonçalves Flag of East Timor.svg  East Timor alpine skiing
Alphonse Gomis Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal alpine skiing
Lamine Guèye Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal alpine skiing
Werner Hoeger Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela luge
Errol Kerr Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica freestyle skiing
Arturo Kinch Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica alpine skiing and cross-country skiing
Eric Maleson Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil bobsleigh
Michael Christian Martinez Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines figure skating
Andrew McNeilly Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago bobsleigh
Isaac Menyoli Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon cross-country skiing
Renato Mizoguchi Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil luge
Jaqueline Mourão Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil biathlon and cross-country skiing
Prawat Nagvajara Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand cross-country skiing
Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana alpine skiing
Raymond Ocampo Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines luge
Akuoma Omeoga Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria bobsleigh
Ngozi Onwumere Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria bobsleigh
Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean Flag of Togo.svg  Togo cross-country skiing
Ricardo Raschini Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil bobsleigh and luge
Mathieu Razanakolona Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar alpine skiing
Rusiate Rogoyawa Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji cross-country skiing
Alexia Arisarah Schenkel Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand alpine skiing
Leyti Seck Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal alpine skiing
Sabrina Simader Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya alpine skiing
Luke Steyn Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe alpine skiing
Kanes Sucharitakul Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand alpine skiing
Robel Teklemariam Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia cross-country skiing
Michael Teruel Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines alpine skiing
Laurence Thoms Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji alpine skiing
Dow Travers Flag of the Cayman Islands.svg  Cayman Islands alpine skiing
George Tucker Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico luge
Vanessa Vanakorn Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand alpine skiing
Hubertus von Hohenlohe Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico alpine skiing
Isadora Williams Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil figure skating
Nicola Zanon Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand alpine skiing

Winter Paralympic Games

As of 2022, only three tropical nations have been represented at the Winter Paralympic Games. [18] Tofiri Kibuuka of Uganda competed in cross-country skiing at the inaugural edition of the Winter Paralympics in 1976 and again at the 1980 Games. [19] After Kibuuka obtained Norwegian nationality, he began to compete for Norway at the Paralympics starting in 1984, winning several medals in athletics at the Summer Paralympics. Brazil sent two athletes as part of its debut at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. Puerto Rico sent one athlete as part of its debut at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.

Africa
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda  (UGA)1976–1980
Americas
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil  (BRA)2014–2022
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico  (PUR)2022
NameNationSport
Tofiri Kibuuka Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda cross-country skiing
Fernando Aranha Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil cross-country skiing
André Cintra Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil snowboard cross
Aline Rocha Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil cross-country skiing
Cristian Ribera Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil cross-country skiing

Winter Youth Olympic Games

Five tropical nations were represented at the First Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Africa
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea  (ERI)2012
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya  (KEN)2016–2024
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria  (NGR)2024
 
Americas
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil  (BRA)2012–2024
Flag of the Cayman Islands.svg  Cayman Islands  (CAY)2012
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia  (COL)2016–2024
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador  (ECU)2020
Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti  (HAI)2020
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica  (JAM)2016–2024
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru  (PER)2012
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago  (TTO)2020
 
Asia
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong  (HKG)2020–2024
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia  (MAS)2016–2020
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines  (PHI)2012, 2020–2024
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore  (SGP)2020–2024
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand  (THA)2020–2024
Flag of East Timor.svg  East Timor  (TLS)2016

See also

Notes

  1. Brown competed for Jamaica in the 2002 Games, but has competed for Canada since 2006.

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