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 at the 2018 Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 |
|
| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Background
editJerry 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.
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]
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]
Competitors
editThe following is the list of number of competitors participating at the Games per sport/discipline.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skeleton | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Skeleton
editGhana qualified one male skeleton athlete. This marked the country's Winter Olympics debut in the sport.[5][6]
| Athlete | Event | Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Run 4 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Akwasi Frimpong | Men's | 53.97 | 30 | 54.46 | 30 | 53.69 | 30 | Eliminated | 2:42.12 | 30 | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Opening Ceremony Flagbearers - Olympic Winter Games, PyeongChang 2018" (PDF). olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Ghana needs $57,000 for PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games - CDM". Ghana Web. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ Shaban, Abdur Rahman Alfa (18 January 2018). "Ghana's skeleton athlete qualifies to participate in 2018 Winter Olympics". AllAfrica.news. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Cocoa from Ghana headlines Ghana's participation of 2018 Winter Olympic Games". GhanaWeb. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Winter Olympics 2018: African athletes to make history in Pyeongchang". BBC Sport. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.