Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong (born 19 December 1974
), nicknamed "The Snow Leopard", is a Ghanaian
skier and is the first person from Ghana to take part in the
Winter Olympics, which he did at the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
Vancouver, British Columbia taking part in the
slalom
To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to:
Sports
;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding
* Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline
* Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline
* Super-G ...
.
He finished 53rd out of 102 participants, of whom 54 finished.
Early life
Nkrumah-Acheampong was born on 19 December 1974 in
Glasgow,
Scotland. He moved to
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
where he has resided since.
He first learnt to ski at the
city's artificial slope during working as an employee there.
Skiing Career
Preparation
At the Ski Show in 2004 Nkrumah-Acheampong and his coach met Fergie Miller, the director of
adventure training specialists ''Base Camp Group''. Miller had approached them, thoroughly intrigued by their Ghana Ski Team jackets. After hearing of their extraordinary ambitions of competing in the Olympic Games, Miller decided to help in any way he could. Base Camp sent Nkrumah-Acheampong out to
Méribel on one of their courses, a trip which would be his first steps on real snow. Nkrumah-Acheampong was somewhat anxious at the sheer scale of the slopes and mountains but after a few runs he was more than confident and he progressed in leaps and bounds.
During the following season, Nkrumah-Acheampong trained with French coaches, and ex-French ski team members, Pascal Blanc and Didier Schmidt, training predominantly in the
Giant Slalom
Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G.
Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...
event on the
Stade de Slalom,
Méribel. He later became a slalom skier also, recording his best results in the discipline, where speed and agility are of paramount importance.
Qualification
In 2005, Nkrumah-Acheampong attempted to qualify for the
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
in
Turin, Italy. However, he failed to arrive at the qualifying stages being held in
Iran because his flight was grounded in
Amsterdam, Netherlands because of icing on its wings.
In 2009, Nkrumah-Acheampong qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics of 2010, scoring 137.5
International Ski Federation
The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...
points, within the qualifying range of 120 to 140 points.
He took part in the men's slalom where he finished 53rd out of 102 competitors, 54 of whom finished the race.
Charity and development work
Nkrumah-Acheampong is supporting projects to promote winter sports in Ghana. He set up the Ghanaian Winter Olympic Association,
and he has gotten government backing to build Ghana's first
artificial ski slope, which he plans to build in the Akuapem Hills of Mamfe. This slope was planned to be finished in time for the
2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
.
Nkrumah-Acheampong also supports a range of charities, including Sabre, a British charity working in Ghana which builds schools in deprived areas.
He also donates any spare sponsorship money to a charity helping to save the
snow leopard from
extinction.
In popular culture
Canadian musician
Ashley MacIsaac
Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian fiddler, singer and songwriter from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at the Juno A ...
also wrote a charity single, "Dreams", to benefit Nkrumah-Acheampong and his charitable efforts.
["Ghana's Snow Leopard records Olympic dream song with Canadian fiddler MacIsaac". ]Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
, 19 February 2010. In addition to the Canadian musicians Matthew Harder of the band House of Doc and
Geoffrey Kelly,
Vince Ditrich
Vince Richard Ditrich (born April 4, 1963) is a Canadian rock musician, best known as the drummer and manager of the band Spirit of the West. Ditrich is also the author of two novels featuring fictional musician Tony Vicar (''The Liquor Vicar'' a ...
and
Tobin Frank
Tobin Frank is a Canadian musician, who records, performs and tours with the bands Spirit of the West and The Paperboys. Primarily a bass guitarist, Frank also plays some accordion and keyboard parts.
Frank joined Spirit of the West as a tempo ...
of the band
Spirit of the West, Nkrumah-Acheampong himself took part in the recording by playing traditional Ghanaian percussion instruments.
The single, credited to The Parallel Band, was released to
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on 19 February 2010.
Nkrumah-Acheampong can also be seen in Season 9 Episode 11 of the hit
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
show
Airline.
Personal life
Nkrumah-Acheampong is married to his wife Sena. She works as a secretary at the
Open University in Milton Keynes. They have two children, daughter Ellice and son Jason.
He is not related to the former President of Ghana
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...
(1909–72).
Nkrumah-Acheampong practised at the
Mount Washington Alpine Resort
Mount Washington Alpine Resort is a year-round recreation destination located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Adjacent to Strathcona Provincial Park, BC's oldest provincial park, Mt. Washington is the Island’s only full-service ...
on
Vancouver Island for the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
from 31 January to 9 February in
Vancouver, British Columbia.
[ ]
See also
*
Ghana at the 2010 Winter Olympics
*
Tropical nations at the Winter Olympics
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
*
Jamaica national bobsled team
The Jamaica national bobsleigh team represents Jamaica in international bobsleighing competitions. The men's team debut in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games four-man bobsleigh in Calgary, Alberta, was received as underdogs in a cold weather sport ...
*
Eric "The Eel" Moussambani
*
Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards
Michael David Edwards (born 5 December 1963), better known as Eddie the Eagle, is an English ski-jumper and Olympian who in 1988 became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping, finishing last in the ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nkrumah-Acheampong, Kwame
1974 births
Living people
sportspeople of Ghanaian descent">British sportspeople of Ghanaian descent
Scottish people of Ghanaian descent
Citizens of Ghana through descent
Ghanaian male alpine skiers
Scottish male alpine skiers
Olympic alpine skiers of Ghana
Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Sportspeople from Glasgow