Living Magazine English Living Magazine V4 | Page 20

™ 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.” 20 / EUROPE LIVING MAGAZINE 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