Ghana has no ice tracks and no snow. In February 2018, Akwasi Frimpong lay face-first on a sled and hurtled down the skeleton track at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, wearing a helmet painted like a lion. He was the first Ghanaian to compete in the event and only the second Ghanaian at any Winter Olympics.
Early life
Frimpong was born in Ghana in 1986 and spent his early childhood in Kumasi, raised by his grandmother. At eight, he moved to the Netherlands to join his mother. For years, he lived there without legal residency papers.
Sprinting
He became a talented sprinter, winning Dutch junior titles. He received residency after his athletic success and won a scholarship to Utah Valley University in the United States. Injuries ended his sprint career.
Bobsleigh
Frimpong tried bobsleigh with the Dutch team, hoping to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics, but did not qualify.
Skeleton
He switched to skeleton, the sliding event in which athletes race head-first on a small sled. He chose to represent Ghana and qualified for the 2018 Games.
Pyeongchang
At Pyeongchang, Frimpong finished last, but his participation made headlines worldwide. His message was about representation: showing African children that winter sports were open to them.
Funding
Frimpong funded much of his career himself, working as a vacuum cleaner salesman in Utah and seeking sponsors.
Later results
He kept competing. On 29 February 2020, at Park City, Utah, he won an international race at the Western Regionals, the first win for an African slider at that level. In the 2022 season he took bronze in an IBSF North American Cup race, Ghana’s first medal in international winter sport competition. He did not qualify for the 2022 Beijing Games.
Advocacy
Frimpong has used his platform to talk about immigration, perseverance and opportunities for African athletes, and he founded a foundation to support youth sport.
Winter sports in Africa
African athletes have competed in increasing numbers at the Winter Olympics, including Nigeria’s bobsleigh team in 2018. Frimpong is part of that growing movement.
Ghana Bobsled
Frimpong also helped found the Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation of Ghana, hoping to build a pathway for other athletes. Funding and training facilities remain major obstacles.
He finished last in Pyeongchang. For Ghanaian children watching a man in a lion helmet on an ice track, the result was less important than the fact that he was there.
