Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, Ghana’s representative in Alpine Skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, Canada, came in 53rd place in Men’s Slalom.
He was second to last, but that is irrelevant; the important point is that he was there.
When I was growing up, my family would always watch the Olympics together. Of course, we would watch the opening and closing ceremonies, but we would also catch whichever events we could when we got home from school and work.
I’ve started to realize that this fascination with the Olympics is not altogether widespread. None of my friends have admitted to a similar routine and most people seem to disregard the games simply because they consist of sports alien to us in a world driven by football and basketball.
The reason that my parents raised me into this tradition of honouring the Olympics was because the games were their only real glimpse of the outside world from where they grew up in Communist Romania. While everything that they saw and heard was heavily censored and contorted, the Olympics seemed like an ideal escape to the global community.
Even though I know that the Walk of Nations, where all the athletes, grouped by country, march through the stadium, is heavily controlled by both officials and players, I love seeing all of the flags go by.
I imagine that Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong only had a few people with him when he entered the stadium for the walk of nations. I imagine that his presence turned a few heads and called forth a few giggles.
But the important thing is that he was there.
I don’t know how the Olympics are received in Ghana, whether or not people pay any attention to them, especially when Ghanaian participation in the winter event is so low. But for those around the world who do watch the Olympics, it is significant that Ghanaians have a face, even if in only one event. By participating in this innocuous event, Ghana has once again reminded the international community of its presence and viability in competition with all nations.
This year, I have not been able to watch the Olympics.
No one around me has, either, but they don’t seem to mind. I miss the excitement of sitting around the television with my family, watching athletes from countries I had never heard of compete regardless of political ideology or religion.
Even though I did not get to see Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, the “Snow Leopard,” race, I am proud knowing that he did, knowing that, whether or not anyone in Ghana was able to see him, someone in the rest of the world did.
With Mona Moraru, From US
