Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

sent a delegation to compete at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States from 8–24 February 2002. This was the nation's first appearance at a

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

. Cameroon sent only one representative,

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

Isaac Menyoli. He finished the

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

in 65th place and the 2 × 10 kilometre pursuit in 80th position.

Background

The

Cameroon Olympic and Sports Committee The Cameroon Olympic and Sports Committee (french: Comité National Olympique et Sportif du Cameroun, abbreviated as CNOSC) is a non-profit organization serving as the National Olympic Committee of Cameroon and a part of the International Olympic ...

was recognised by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

on 31 December 1962. The country began participating in

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

soon after, in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, and have participated in every Summer Olympics since. Salt Lake City was Cameroon's first appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The 2002 Winter Olympics were held from 8–24 February 2002; a total of 2,399 athletes representing 77

National Olympic Committees A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

took part. Cameroon sent one athlete to the Salt Lake City Olympics, cross-country skier Isaac Menyoli. He was selected as the flag bearer for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

while a ceremony volunteer carried the Cameroonian flag for the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Cross-country skiing

Isaac Menyoli was 29 years old at the time of the Salt Lake City Olympics, and was dedicated to use his Olympic participation to promote the cause of

AIDS education HIV prevention refers to practices that aim to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV prevention practices may be undertaken by individuals to protect their own health and the health of those in their community, or may ...

in his native country. He was living in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and took up skiing in earnest only the year before, and competed successfully in five qualifying races. About Cameroon, Menyoli said "My friends think it is very stupid; we celebrate the Summer Olympics at home but the Winter Olympics are unheard of," On 14 February, he took part in the 2 × 10 kilometre pursuit, finishing the first classical 10 kilometres in 45 minutes and 40.3 seconds, ranking 80th and last. Only the top 60 were allowed to proceed to the second 10 kilometre freestyle portion, and Menyoli was eliminated, the slowest qualifying time being 29 minutes and 4.6 seconds. Five days later, on 19 February, he was a competitor in the

, finishing the qualifying round in a time of 4 minutes and 10.07 seconds. Only the top 16 could advance to the next round, and he was again eliminated; the slowest qualifying time was 2 minutes and 53.87 seconds. He ended the event in 65th place out of 69 classified finishers. ;Sprint

References

{{Country at games navbox, Cameroon, Olympics Nations at the 2002 Winter Olympics

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...