Living Magazine English Living Magazine V4 | Page 20

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Performance Advocate
Akwasi Frimpong
Making History—Ghana’s First Olympian Skeleton Athlete
From Ghana to the Netherlands, to Utah Valley University, to Pyeongchang and beyond,
Ghanaian athlete Akwasi Frimpong finally achieves his Olympic dreams.
ost athletes who dream of becoming
Olympians must work incredibly hard
for years on end to even qualify for such a
chance. For Ghanaian native Akwasi
Frimpong, the journey to the 2018 Winter
Olympics took more than just hard work—
it required him to overcome obstacle after
obstacle, and to never give up on himself
or his dream. After facing challenges like
gaining citizenship and overcoming
devastating injuries, Akwasi is finally
living out his dream of being an Olympian.
M
A Long Journey
Akwasi’s story begins in Ghana, where he
spent the first few years of his life living
with his grandmother and nine other
grandchildren while his mother travelled
to the Netherlands to secure a better life
for her children. In 1995, Akwasi moved
to the Netherlands where he faced many
challenges as an illegal immigrant. It took
more than a decade of hard work for
Akwasi to gain Dutch citizenship, during
which time Akwasi struggled to find a
school that would accept him.
During his early years in the Netherlands,
Akwasi soon discovered he was a fast
runner—something he realised during
physical education at school. Although
he was fast, Akwasi didn’t think he had
much interest in running until a neighbour
showed him a medal he had won in a race.
Akwasi remembers thinking that he had
never won a medal or trophy in his entire
life, and he wanted to know what it felt
like to win. Akwasi thought, “If he can
do it, I can do it.”
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This desire to win led Akwasi to join the track
team, where it didn’t take long before he got
the chance to know what it felt like to win.
Overcoming Obstacles
After experiencing success as a sprinter
during his teen years, Akwasi had dreams of
competing in the Olympics. He hoped to
qualify for the 2012 London Olympics,
however an injury quickly derailed these
dreams and he was forced to take time away
from training to recover.
For the next few years, Akwasi took a break
from his Olympic pursuits and focused on his
education and career. He attended Utah Valley
University in Orem, Utah, where he obtained a
degree in Marketing, and met his wife, Erica.
In 2013, after recovering from his injury,
Akwasi was asked to join the Dutch bobsled
team because of his speed. Once again,
Akwasi dreamed of making it to the 2014
Olympics in Sochi, but only one sled from the
Dutch team qualified that year—leaving
Akwasi behind as an alternate.
At this point, Akwasi had fought a difficult
citizenship battle, overcome injury, and even
switched sports, without having gone to the
Olympics. However, he still felt the desire to
be an Olympian and knew that his goal of
going to the Olympics was still “unfinished
business.” With the support of his wife and
encouragement from coaches, Akwasi
reignited his dreams of Olympic success as
he began to train to compete as a skeleton
athlete. He quickly fell in love with the sport,
and decided not to give up on his dream of
going to the Olympics. Finally, Akwasi’s
dream came to fruition as he qualified for
the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang,
where he would represent his home
country of Ghana.
Representing a Nation
As the first West African to compete in the
skeleton, Akwasi feels an immense respon­
sibility to represent his home country and
make them proud. He said, “I’ve done a lot in
the Netherlands, I’ve done a lot in the U.S.,
and it’s time to do something for my country.”
Akwasi has received overwhelming support
from the people of Ghana, especially the