Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong timeline to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Whistler Charity - DJ - Valentines - Vancouver 2010

Read the full story here

Next week, when Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, known to his fans as the Snow Leopard, becomes the first Ghanaian skier to compete in the Winter Olympics, he will be carrying not only the hopes and dreams of his countrymen but also a wardrobe of yak-hair clothing from China.

Read the full story here

Wien An der afrikanischen Westkuste gibt es viel zu sehen Sandstrande, Affenbrotbaume und den grossten kunstlichen Binnensee der Welt.

Nur eines sieht man nie Schnee.

Dennoch wird bei den Olympischen Winterspielen auch Westafrika vertreten sein. Denn erstmals geht ein Ski-Rennlaufer aus Ghana an den Start.

Read the full story here

Africans have long played a dominant role in the Summer Olympic Games. But the Winter Olympics are something else. Yet a man from Ghana is in Vancouver, Canada to take on some of the world's greatest skiers at this year's Winter Olympics (February 12-28).


Read the full story here

As if having the deepest snowpack of any alpine resort in the world (376 cms mid-mountain) wasn't enough to make Mt. Washington's skiers and boarders happy, now they get to share their friendly and intimate Vancouver Island resort with the man fast becoming the people's favourite Olympian The Snow Leopard, Ghana's one-man ski team.

Read the full story here

A man who grew up in a country without snow is to become the first Ghanian to compete in the Winter Olympics later this month when he straps on his skis to tackle the Alpine downhill.

Read the full story here

THERES not a lot of snow in Ghana. None in fact. It's in the heart of sub-Saharan West Africa, for goodness sake.

So it's little surprise that, in a population of 24million, you can count the number of world-ranked Ghanaian skiers on the fingers of one, er, finger. More surprising is the fact that Ghana's one-man ski team, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, is preparing to take on the world's best after qualifying for next week's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Read the full story here

Like other young boys growing up in Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong played soccer and competed in athletics before settling on a most unusual sport

A snow leopard will be prowling the slopes at the 2010 Olympics, but he's after gold, not blood.

Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, is competing for Ghana in slalom and giant slalom at the Vancouver Games. He is the sole representative of his West African country at the Games and the first Ghanaian to compete in the Winter Olympics.

Acheampong, who was born in Scotland but grew up in Mamfe Akwapim, Ghana, arrived this week for some pre-Olympic training runs at Mt. Washington on Vancouver Island, where the downhill skier stands out in his distinctive leopard-print training suit.

Read the full story here

They call him the Snow Leopard, but Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong has an even better title he's happy to hold: the first Ghanaian to head to the Winter Olympics. The downhill skier will be carrying the flag of Ghana during the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first from his snowless country to do so.


Read the full story here

Snow Leopard will cruise into the Olympic Games carried by the hopes and dreams of a small Vancouver Island community. Well, those and a set of wheels donated by a local car dealership.

Kwame Nkarumah-Acheampong, the first-ever Ghanaian to ski in the Olympics, will drive next week from Mount Washington, where he has trained on Canadian snow these past few days, to Whistler, where he'll have to prove his mettle on the slopes.


The final destination of the spacious cinnamon Ford Flex, emblazoned with images of the 35-year-old slalom and giant slalom competitor, will signal the end of an amazing journey to the Games that the island community has done its part to boost. They've rallied around the unlikely winter athlete, who hails from a hot, snow-deprived country and qualified for the Games after taking up skiing just six years ago.

Read the full story here

COURTENAY, B.C. - He hails from sub-Saharan Africa, where it does not snow and temperatures average about 34C this time of year.

But Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, will be the first athlete to hoist the Ghanaian flag in a Winter Olympics when he hits the alpine courses in Whistler this month.

Acheampong was training Tuesday on Mount Washington, on Vancouver Island, for the slalom and giant slalom events.


Skiing may not be a traditional sport in the tropical nation of Ghana, but Acheampong quickly points out that he qualified to be in the elite field in the medal events at the Games.

Read the full story here

COURTENAY, B.C. - A snow leopard will be prowling the slopes at the 2010 Olympics but he's after gold, not blood.

Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, is competing for Ghana in the upcoming Games - the sole representative of his sub-Saharan African country and the first Ghanaian to compete in a Winter Olympics.

Acheampong arrived, almost penniless, for some pre-Olympic training runs at Mt. Washington, on Vancouver Island, where the downhill skier stands out in his distinctive leopard-print training suit.

The Ghanaian skier says it's very warm in Canada, which, considering the daily temperature in Ghana is currently 34C, must mean the reception he's received from locals.


Read the full story here

COURTENAY, B.C. - He hails from sub-Saharan Africa, where it does not snow and temperatures average about 34C this time of year.


But Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, will be the first athlete to hoist the Ghanaian flag in a Winter Olympics when he hits the alpine courses in Whistler this month.

Acheampong was training Tuesday on Mount Washington, on Vancouver Island, for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Read the full story here

COURTENAY, B.C. - He hails from sub-Saharan Africa, where it does not snow and temperatures average about 34C this time of year.


But Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, will be the first athlete to hoist the Ghanaian flag in a Winter Olympics when he hits the alpine courses in Whistler this month.

Acheampong was training Tuesday on Mount Washington, on Vancouver Island, for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Read the full story here

COURTENAY, B.C. - He hails from sub-Saharan Africa, where it does not snow and temperatures average about 34C this time of year.


But Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, will be the first athlete to hoist the Ghanaian flag in a Winter Olympics when he hits the alpine courses in Whistler this month.

Acheampong was training Tuesday on Mount Washington, on Vancouver Island, for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Read the full story here

COURTENAY, B.C. - He hails from sub-Saharan Africa, where it does not snow and temperatures average about 34C this time of year.


But Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, will be the first athlete to hoist the Ghanaian flag in a Winter Olympics when he hits the alpine courses in Whistler this month.

Acheampong was training Tuesday on Mount Washington, on Vancouver Island, for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Read the full story here

COURTENAY, B.C. - He hails from sub-Saharan Africa, where it does not snow and temperatures average about 34C this time of year.


But Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, will be the first athlete to hoist the Ghanaian flag in a Winter Olympics when he hits the alpine courses in Whistler this month.

Acheampong was training Tuesday on Mount Washington, on Vancouver Island, for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Read the full story here

COURTENAY, B.C. - He hails from sub-Saharan Africa, where it does not snow and temperatures average about 34C this time of year.


But Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, will be the first athlete to hoist the Ghanaian flag in a Winter Olympics when he hits the alpine courses in Whistler this month.

Acheampong was training Tuesday on Mount Washington, on Vancouver Island, for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Read the full story here

Interview with Kwame.

Visit the Magazine Here

Over the years, cougar, black bear and even Sasquatch sightings have been reported at Mount Washington.

But until now, the odds have been stacked against catching a glimpse of a Snow Leopard.

Yet its about to happen - but in this case The Snow Leopard is actually the very first alpine skier ever to represent the snow-less African country of Ghana at a Winter Olympic Games.

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong wanted to be able to train close to the Olympic venues on the best possible snow conditions as he prepared for his greatest performance.

Boasting the deepest snowpack in Canada and recognized as a popular training venue, Mount Washington was top of his list.

But making tracks here seemed impossible until Tourism Mount Washington and a group of sponsors from surrounding communities got together to offer him a welcome as warm as his African homeland as he prepares for the final leg of his Olympic journey.


Read the full story here

A man who grew up in a country without snow is to become the first Ghanian to compete in the Winter Olympics later this month when he straps on his skis to tackle the Alpine downhill.

35-year old Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, aka the Snow Leopard, only saw snow for the first time five years ago and is now set to compete against the worlds top skiers.

Read the full story here

The famous Jamaican bobsleigh team lives on in Vancouver 2010, but Ghanas first Winter Olympian Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong is set to steal the limelight this year.

He's known as The Snow Leopard, and skis in a leopard-print racing suit.

Believed to be the only black skiing competitor at this year's Games, the 35-year-old Ghanaian will compete in the slalom at Vancouver, having reportedly quit his job as a safari guide to focus on the slopes.


Nkrumah-Acheampong had never seen snow until five years ago, when he took up skiing before attempting to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Read the full story here

PARIS An African skier, a blind nordic athlete, and an aerials ace pushing 50 hope to grab a share of the Winter Olympics spotlight in Vancouver and Whistler.

Amongst the supporting cast at the February 12-28 showpiece will be Ghana skiier Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, known popularly as Snow Leopard.


He was born in Glasgow, brought up in Accra and didn't take up skiing until, having moved back to the UK to study, he started working at an indoor ski centre in Milton Keynes, central England.

As Ghana's first winter Olympian, the 34-year-old follows in the footsteps of pioneers like Kenyan Philip Boit, the first black African to compete in a winter Olympics cross-country race and who will end his career in Vancouver.

Read the full story here

Staging in the starthouse alongside such skiing stars as Bode Miller and Benjamin Raich at the 2010 Olympic slopes will be a lesser known

Read the full story here

Ghana's sole representative at the Winter Olympics hopes his experience in Vancouver will inspire young Africans to chase their dreams.

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, known as the Snow Leopard, will race in Canada just six years after first trying the sport at a snow centre in the United Kingdom.

The 35-year-old has said he hopes his exploits can lead his compatriots to follow his example.


Read the full story here

The Snow Leopard som han kallas, och kallar sig, traffas i Val di Fiemme i de italienska Dolomiterna. Med bara dagar kvar till OS ar programmet for Ghanas utforsakare hektiskt. Traningen spads pa
med det olympiska aventyrets praktiska arrangemang, fran bokning av resa och hotel till tavlingsanmalan och forflyttning. Snoleoparden Kwame ar sammanbiten med blicken framat, vasterut.

Open the PDF by clicking here

Paddy Power today announced their sponsorship of Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong the first Ghanaian to qualify for the Winter Olympics. Kwame, known as The Snow Leopard, first skied just over six years ago when he got a job as a receptionist at a snow centre in the UK. Two years later he skied for the first time outdoors on a real mountain in Val Di Sere, France. His talent shone through in some indoor races and that natural skill subsequently took him to competing in FIS races in Europe and ultimately Olympic qualification

Read the full story here

The Snow Leopard is crouched in his Italian office, which appears suspiciously like a ski hotel lobby, pawing and poring over a laptop. It is midnight and Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, aka the Ghana ski team, looks dog tired.

Read the full story here

You know how it is. The Winter Olympics come around every four years and all of a sudden our interest is suddenly awakened in sports we've no real idea about and athletes we've never heard of.

Well the 2010 Games are just around the corner, starting on 12 February in Vancouver, Canada, to be precise, and will conjure up new unexpected heroes for their own 15 minutes of fame.

And one of these could well be Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong.

While most Winter Olympians dream of standing on the podium, proudly displaying a medal around their necks, he will be hoping not to finish last.

It doesn't sound much of an aspiration but the skier wants to make his nation - Ghana - proud.


He has become the first Ghanaian to qualify for the Winter Olympics and will be competing in slalom and giant slalom at Whistler Creekside

Read the full story here

Kwame has now become the first person from Ghana to qualify for the Winter Olympics A Milton Keynes skier tells us what its like to be become the first person from Ghana to qualify for the Winter Olympics.

Its probably fair to say that Africa isnt a place that is known for its skiers.

Howeverif youve been to the indoor slopes at Hemel Hempstead or Milton Keynes theres a good chance youve been overtaken by a man they call the Snow Leopard.

Also know as Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong.

KwameNkrumah-Acheampong is a professional skier living in Milton Keynes, who represents Ghana and has been selected for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, the first person from his country to do so, and one of only a handful from the African continent.

Being from acountry without snow makes his participation particularly amazing, but what makes it even more remarkable is that Kwame only put skis on forthe first time in 2003!

So, what happened between that moment, at the Snowdome in Milton Keynes, and now, as the Olympics beckon?

Kwame,31, was born in Scotland, but moved back to Ghana and spent timetravelling around Africa with his parents. After studying Travel andTourism at university in Ghana, he moved back to the UK to study forhis Masters.

Read the full story here

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, nicknamed The Snow Leopard, is a Ghanaian skiier and is expected to be the first person from Ghana to take part in the Winter Olympics, at the 2010 Games to be held in Vancouver, Canada.

Read the full story here

Countdown to the 2010 Winter Games Ghanas Snow leopard gets ready to prowl in BC, Quebec.CTCs Connecting with Canadians program brings African skier and his family from UK over to experience Canada.

The Olympic Games have the power to generate some extraordinary stories. Just think of Eddie The Eagle Edwards at Calgary, AB, at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, AB, or the Canadian mens hockey team striking gold in 2002 in Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong

Im my own coach, doctor, physio and driver when Im skiing, says Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong. I sometimes have to sleep in my van and theres been many a time that Ive had to come home early from a competition because Ive run out of money.

Kwame is the only black African on the international skiing circuit and is set to become Ghana's first athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics. Not since Calgary 1988 when Eddie the Eagle flew through the skies and the Jamaican bobsleigh team inspired the film Cool Runnings has there be such excitement surrounding one competitor.

Read the full story here

Ghanas first professional skier, who honed his skills on an artificial slope in the UK has qualified to compete in next years Winter Olympics.

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong was born in the Scottish city of Glasgow but he grew up in Ghanas snowless capital Accra.

But through a mix of perseverance and good fortune the snow leopard as he likes to be referred to, is now so good hell be the one-man Ghanaian ski team in Vancouvers Winter Olympics in 2010.

So how does he rate his chances?

Read the full story here

Ghana's first professional skier, who honed his skills on an artificial slope in the UK, has qualified to compete in next year's Winter Olympics.

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong was born in the Scottish city of Glasgow but he grew up in Ghana's snowless capital, Accra.

But through a mix of perseverance and good fortune, the snow leopard, as he likes to be referred to, is now so good he'll be the one-man Ghanaian ski team in Vancouver's Winter Olympics in 2010.

So how does he rate his chances?

Very far, he says with a laugh in his voice.

My [hope] is to ski very well and prove to people that I deserve to be on the hill, with the other top world class athletes.

So how did someone from Ghana, a country renowned for its tropical climate not ski-slopes or powder-soft snow, come to set himself such an ambitious goal?


Read the full story here

He bills himself as the Snow Leopard, even though he saw snow for the first time just five years ago. Meet Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, Ghana's first professional skier who has defied extraordinary odds to qualify for the Vancouver Games in February.

As Africa's most unlikely Olympic hero since Eric the Eel, Nkrumah-Acheampong, 34, will be his country's sole representative at the Winter Olympics. And to make his challenge even greater he has not been training on glistening slopes but at an indoor ski centre in Hemel Hempstead.

Read the full story here

First there was Eddie the Eagle, and then the Jamaican bobsled team. Now, get ready for the Snow Leopard, the latest in the history of unlikely competitors at the Winter Olympics.

Earlier this week Alpine skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, whose nickname is the Snow Leopard, qualified to compete in the 2010 Games in Vancouver, making him the first person from Ghana to qualify for the Winter Olympics.

Nkrumah-Acheampong has taken an unlikely path to the Olympics. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in Ghana, he put on skis for the first time just six years ago after he moved from the snowless Ghana back to the U.K.

Read the full story here

Kwame decides not to work with VIST anymore after 3 years of collaboration

After 3 years of working with VIST, Kwame has decided to bring the relationship to an end. This sad event was due to the fact that VIST, an Italian ski clothing manufacturer has not honoured promises made in conjunction with the development and sale of the SNOWLEOPARD COLLECTION of Vist clothing, one of the top marques of the Vist brand.

After several attempts failed to get Vist to honour the committments made to Kwame and the Snowleopard Conservation Trust, Kwame decided to walk away from a relationship that was not going to stand up to his charitable aims and also funding to enable him carry on skiing, as well as develop a full squad of skiers for Ghana.

It is thus with regret that Kwame wishes to inform all fans and supporters not to buy Vist SNOWLEOPARD PRODUCTS as he no more works with them and they have not honoured the mission statement on their website that indicates a part of each sale amount of SNOWLEOPARD T-SHIRTS will be donated to the Snowleopard Trust. Enquiries made to the SNOWLEOPARD TRUST have indicated that since the inception of the Snowleopard clothing and ski accessory project not a single penny has been donated to the Trust.

This ends a relationship that showed indications of moving from strength to strength and saw some innovations in the ski industry been made.

Raise Your Game: You are the first person from Ghana to qualify for the Winter Olympics. How does that make you feel

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong I feel very proud to have achieved the qualification and I feel I am setting a piece of history on my own. It has been a tough journey, but I'm glad all the hard work has paid off.

Read the full story here

Such is the appeal of the challenge faced by the Ghana Ski Team more racers took part this year in the exciting race than last year. With high calibre racers including members of the British Children Team taking time out to support the Snow Leopard Challenge, this was a fun day of racing.
he large entry field were racing to support the exploits of the Ghana Ski Team as well as racing for some extremely attractive prizes that had been put up by the sponsors of the race.

The Giant Slalom race, one of the few times this type of race is raced in the UK, was exciting as racers from all over the UK took part. Serious racers as well as ageing racers and newcomers to racing all mixed in the friendly atmosphere. The Snowleopard Kwame helped open the race posting a blistering forerun time of 12.34 seconds bettered by only the 3 top racers of the day. The racing was fast and frantic and rising star of British racing, Jack Evans, was clearly the leading talent racing. Evans took home a fully designed and hosted web site, skis (and other prizes) for his efforts in posting the fastest overall time of the day. Coming home second and third were Jon Gass from Chatham and Will Manns from the Xscape race team. Winning return flights from EasyJet was British Children's Team Head Coach, Phil Brown. In his first race for a number of years, Brown was delighted to be taking home the flights! Fastest lady down the courses was Victoria Collins who won a limited edition British Team race suit.

Over the years, Xscape's race team have supported the Snow Leopard in his exploits and as a thank you for all their help, Matt Thompson won return flights, an official tour of the Vist headquarters in Italy and a week training camp in Trentino with the local Italian team B, and the Snowleopard himself. The young racers were not forgotten either as the two youngest racers taking part, both took home subscriptions to Racer Ready. With Full Range Media producing a DVD, available for 10 Pound, of the days racing, the race is looking like one of the most exciting races on the Indoor Skiing calendar.

The Snowleopard would like to thank all the racers for taking part and helping get closer to his aim reaching the top level ski-racing and developing the Ghana Ski Team, to provide a lasting legacy to skiing in Ghana. As well as Aztech Creative Print, Trentino and Val di Fiemme, EasyJet, Leopard Sports Ltd, Daxic, GIA, Sno!Zone, Base Camp, Majorsporty, Full Range Media, Base Camp Group, Vew do Boards, the following companies helped to make the day a success, Racer Ready, Ski Bartlet, Gambado, Gravity Snowsports, Osbe, Hart and M.IN.G Ghana Ltd Thanks also goes out to those who helped the event run smoothly, Dave Jacobs, Nick Plumbridge, Cheryl, Jane Thompson, David Beach, Lesley Gash, Kim Green, Maria Ferebee and Neil McQuoid, Steve from Snozone and all the staff of Snozone not forgetting Ali Hastings.

The SNOWLEOPARD challenge is a fun event aimed at both skiers and snowboarders. It is also an opportunity for ski and snowboard slalom racers to show how good they are, on a tailor made short slalom course. The event apart from being a fundraiser for the Ghana Ski Team, is also an opportunity to reward deserving ski and board racers for their efforts at training and working hard to be the best.

We aim to make this event a fixture on the British snowsport calender, and will work hard to make it bigger and better each year. The race course will take the form of a short slalom/giant slalom race. Thus unlike other indoor or dry slope events, the SNOWLEOPARD challenge will test both the short turning abilities [slalom skills] as well as the longer shoulder [giant slalom] assisted turns of racers. Start ramps are going to be mounted at the top of the slope to give racers the necessary push start for a quick and fast take-off into the race.

Every racer will have 2 timed runs to determine their overall time, and the average of both times will be the final time used to determine ranking on the day.

Racers shall arrive at 8am on the 5th of November to give them enough time to register if they have not already done so, as well as warm-up for the race. The race kicks off at 9am, and by 12 noon it will all be over pending the prize giving ceremony.

The Ghana Ski Team looks forward to seeing you at the event, and we wish you the best in the race.

TORINO - Lo aspettavano sulla pista di slalom, puntino scuro nel bianco accecante delle discese scintillanti del Sestriere, e apparso all'Etichal Village di Torino per una gara piu difficile.

Kwame Nkrumah Acheampongha, l'atleta ghanese che si e allenato nei mesi scorsi in val di Fiemme, non ha centrato la qualificazione olimpica ma alle Olimpiadi c'e lo stesso. Per aiutare Medici senza frontiere.

Questa mattina era all'inaugurazione della mostra Lavoratori stagionali: i frutti dell'ipocrisia, un'esposizione fotografica sulle condizioni di vita degli immigranti impiegati nell'agricoltura nel Sud Italia, che restera aperta fino al 26 febbraio nella palestra dell'Istituto Avogadro.

Read the full story here

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong admits that Ghana is not a place you would associate with winter sports.

Yet the man who is known as Ghana's Snow Leopard is now on a mission to identify, train and recruit the next batch of Ghanaian ski racing stars.

Kwame has competed in top international competitions less than four years after seeing snow for the first time ever.

He will be joined in his talent hunt by US skier Ted Ligety, a gold medallist at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

Together they will train and watch the progress of a group of young Ghanaians who have expressed an interest in this exotic sport.

At first it was difficult because Ghana is not a winter sports country... but we have convinced people, Kwame told the BBC's Fast Track programme.

It is not difficult to get into skiing if you let yourself go.

Read the full story here

The rapid success of the Ghana Ski Team has called for DAXIC a Milton Keynes based website management and development company to support the ski teams website.

With support always on hand and a close working relationship, DAXIC can provide high support and innovative solutions to suit the needs of the Ghana Ski Team.

Visit the DAXIC Website Here

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong had hoped to compete in Alpine skiing at the Olympics; instead he had to watch from the crowd.

Known as Ghana's Snow Leopard, Nkrumah-Acheampong just barely failed to qualify for the games. He hoped instead to work as a forerunner--a skier sent down the course ahead of the main racers--but lost out there as well, because all the spots as forerunners were reserved for Italians.

So Nkrumah-Acheampong joined the fans.

I am here to cheer the other African nations, the few that have been able to make it, Nkrumah-Acheampong said Wednesday at the Alpine ski venue in Sestriere. I thought there would be more.

Skiers from countries that don't have a top-500 skier must gather enough International Ski Federation qualifying points to earn entry into the games.

One skier each from Madagascar, Senegal and South Africa are entered in men's Alpine skiing events.

Nkrumah-Acheampong said he believes the point system keeps smaller nations from competing and impedes the spread of winter sports.

What they have to do if they're not going to fund the smaller nations is make it easier for them to qualify for events, as that is how they get sponsorship to carry on, said Nkrumah-Acheampong. One of the ideas I have is getting the stronger nations and buddying them up with the smaller nations.

Read the full story here

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong may not be a name causing tremors in world sports, but the African skier is whipping up a storm in Italy as he screams down the slopes of the countrys best ski resorts.

Ghanas best skier has chosen a profession that his fellow countrymen do not share a passion for, however his decision has paid dividends, with sponsors now wanting to jump on his toboggan.

When I started, people poked fun at me and never took me seriously, but after competing in some events in France - where I performed well against people who had begun the sport in their childhood - respect for me grew, the Scottish born, Ghanaian skier told the BBC.

They believed I could make it to the Olympics.

Nicknamed the snow leopard, Nkrumah-Acheampong realised his new love affair watching the sport on Television, fascinated with the way competitors moved their bodies around the gates.

The Ghanaian tried his hand at the sport by chance, working at a indoor skiing centre in the UK and he never looked back.

Read the full story here

Se autodenomina Leopardo de las nieves y resume el espiritu olimpico que en su dia empujo a la seleccion jamaicana de Bobsleitgh a participar en sus primeros juegos Olimpicos. Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, unico miembro de la seleccion de Ghana de esqui alpino ultima su preparacion en la estacion de esqui de Vallnord (Andorra) cuando esta a punto de clasificarse para los Juegos Olimpicos de Invierno Turin 2006 que empiezan dentro de un mes.

Read the full story here

Se autodenomina Leopardo de las nieves y resume el espiritu olimpico que en su dia empujo a la seleccion jamaicana de Bobsleigh a participar en sus primeros juegos Olimpicos. Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, unico miembro de la seleccion de Ghana de esqi alpino ultima su preparacion en la estacion de esqui de Vallnord (Andorra) cuando esta a punto de clasificarse para los Juegos Olimpicos de Invierno Tur

LONDON - The Winter Olympics have produced some unlikely competitors over the years. Remember hapless British ski jumper Eddie The Eagle Edwards? The Jamaican bobsledders who inspired the movie Cool Runnings? The Kenyan and Cameroonian cross-country skiers?

Get ready for the possibility of another novelty act in Turin next month - a 31-year-old African skier known as the Snow Leopard.

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong is hoping to become the first Ghanaian to compete at the Winter Olympics.

Read the full story here

Londyn - Ghansky sportovec Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, zvany Snezny leopard, neuspel se svou snahou stat se prvnim olympijskym lyzarem sve zeme. Jednatricetilety nekdejsi recepcni v indoorovem skicentru v Milton Keynes v centralni Anglii oznamil, ze chce soutezit v Turine, a to presto, ze videl zasnezene hory poprve pred tremi lety.

Read the full story here

Kazde olympijske hry maji sve nezapomenutelne osobnosti a jednou z nich mel byt v Turine ghansky sjezdar Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong. Jednatricetilety recepcni z hotelu v anglickem Milton Keynesu, prezdivany Snezny leopard, ale pres veskerou snahu nesplnil potrebny kvalifikacni limit.

Read the full story here

Quel nome, Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, stranissimo per uno sciatore, e stato un motivo in piu per sfidare la neve.

Neve artificiale, in una pista indoor di appena 147 metri. Era il 2003 e Kwame aveva 27 anni, un'eta piuttosto avanzata per cominciare qualunque disciplina sportiva.

Ma al Planet Ice di Milton Keynes, il centro sportivo dove lavorava come portiere, ai dipendenti erano offerte lezioni gratuite. E allora, perche non provare? Cosi Kwame si mise gli sci ai piedi e il suo maestro rimase di stucco: un principiante con tempi da campione.

Read the full story here

Eddie the Eagle, the British ski-jumping no-hoper who dropped off the Calgary slopes like a dead weight in 1988, may never have been in contention for a medal. But he does have one golden legacy.

He has inspired a new, woefully under-prepared generation to dream of muscling in on the winter sports club. At Turin 2006, there will be Alpine skiers from Ghana, Morocco and Algeria, an Ethiopian nordic skier, a luger from India, not to mention the re-appearance of the Jamaican bobsleigh team.

Read the full story here

TRENTO. A Torino ci sara, ma non come atleta. Seguira i Giochi soltanto come uomo immagine dell'Associazione Medici senza Frontiere. E infatti sfumato il sogno di Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong di rappresentare per la prima volta il Ghana in una competizione olimpica di sci alpino.

L'atleta di colore si e allenato per settimane sulle nevi trentine di Pampeago,

I colori del Ghana


letteralmente adottato dalla comunita della val di Fiemme, ma nell'ultima gara disputata a Castelrotto, decisiva per poter raggiungere la soglia dei 140 punti Fis (limite imposto per la partecipazione olimpica) e caduto e ha dovuto cancellare il sogno di gareggiare a Torino 2006, se pur nel piu tradizionale spirito decoubertiano. Il suo punteggio e rimasto a 216 punti, 76 in piu rispetto a quanto richiesto per ottenere il passaporto per i Giochi.

Read the full story here

Rarely do you associate an African with skiing, but Ghanaian Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong wants to enter uncharted territory.

As Ghana's first professional skier, he aims to compete next February in the downhill race at the winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Nkrumah-Acheampong, who loves to be referred to as the snow leopard, was actually born in the Scottish city of Glasgow, but grew up in Ghana's capital, Accra, where the nearest most people get to snow is imagining cold cotton wool.

The first time I saw snow was on TV back home in Ghana, Nkrumah-Acheampong told the BBC's Fast Track programme.

Watching skiing then, I loved the way the skiers turned, moved fast in a zigzag manner and I said to myself, Some day I'll ski!

Read the full story here

On the 7th of this month I had the opportunity to visit Ladurns in Italy for 2 giant slalom races, one on the 7th and the other on the 8th. The hill was not too difficult a hill, but we had a section of the course with very aggressive snow. Marco my coach told me to watch out for the bad patch.

I was surprised how quick the bad patch was, and it shot me straight into a tight left hander of a turn and then down into the lower part of the course. I had one big mistake skiing the aggressive snow, and followed it up with another one before a banana gate after the tight left hander on a knoll. I was still carrying good speed and thus managed a good time.

I followed the first run with another good run, though not without some mistakes, and scored 212.77 points. I was very happy that I had scored some points lower than my 255, but what really made me happy was I was not the slowest racer, and I was not at the bottom of the final race list for the day.

The second day of racing saw me ready to give it my all. I came out of the start gate flying. Once again we had the same aggressive snow on the top section of the course but I sailed through it.

On the knoll where the course setters had made up their minds to test racers with sharp changes in direction, I blasted through the tight gate. With a lot of speed I decided to try going through the banana gate by taking a more tight line than the previous day.

I don't think I was quite ready for the huge amount of force I had to exert on the skis to keep in the course. I thus skied very wide after the banana and nearly ended up hitting a gate. I lost all my hard earned speed and just managed to gain a bit towards the end of the course.

On the whole Landurns was good as I scored points and tried out a few new things.


We packed bags immediately after the races in Ladurns to head straight for Chiesavalmalenco (ITA, where there were 2 giant slalom races and 2 slalom. we arrived at about 8pm , got a bite to eat and went straight to bed since we had been on the road for about 5 hours.

The next morning saw me up and early ready to race. I hopped into the car and Marco drove to what must be the most frightening cable car lift I have been on so far. Its was not only the space between the start and finish of the contraption, but how the whole thing is set up. The lift just does not inspire confidence in one making it to the top, and how much more the return leg.

Well enough of my worries about lifts. The race hill here was more challenging, beginning with a flat section which allowed for about 6secs of gliding, straight into a steep pitch, with tight turns. The snow here was solid and on some gates we were faced with ice patches. Coming up the lift and watching the first few racers, you could hear the chattering of their skis as they hit ice patches. I wonder sometimes how I manage to get through some races in one piece. Just after the steep pitch the slope then begins to give you a tough time as every right hand turn is a fall away gate (the slope falls towards your right), and every left turn involves an immediate climb followed by another fall away gate. Then just before you hit another flat, the course setters had put a banana gate to add to more grief to the already difficult lower end of the course. But after the banana came a sweet tuck and glide section leading to the finish, with just the last 2 gates being offset to cause a few racers to wipe-out.

it was a good 2 days of racing, but I think the side winding nature of the course got to me and I just could not bring my mind to command my body to attack, thus not giving it my all. Once again I was faster than some racers.

I have developed quickly over the Christmas break and now ski with more confidence and fluidity than before.


I am looking forward to my next few races and will keep you informed

It doesnt look like Ghanas Snow Leopard is going to make it to Turin. But a couple of other African skiers and Hubertus Von Hohenlohe of Mexico should make it.

The Snow Leopard 31 year old Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong did not gather enough qualifying points in time for Mondays deadline.

Skiers from countries without a top-500 skier have to gather points from the International Ski Federation to qualify. Athletes start with 1,000 points and must get down to 140 for slalom and giant slalom and 120 for downhill and super-G.

Nkrumah-Acheampong had 220 points, FIS rules specialist Sonja Reichen said.

Nkrumah-Acheampongs supporters were looking into the possibility of a wild card, but FIS says that is impossible.

There are no wild cards for the Olympics, Reichen said. Unfortunately, there is no way for him now. He will have to improve if he wants to compete in future major events.

Read the full story here

A Pampeago incontriamo Piero De Godenz, direttore Ski Center Latemar, che oltre alle novita della stagione invernale (nuove piste e impianti in Cermis e sul Latemar) ci racconta una storia curiosa. Tutto ha inizio da un nome impronunciabile: Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong. E un ghanese di 31 anni che un bel giorno, ad Accra, vedendo in tv degli sciatori, si mette in testa di imparare a sciare, proprio lui che la neve non l'aveva mai vista. Affascinato dall'idea di sfrecciare a grande velocita tra gli alberi sulla neve, nel 2000 decide di trasferirsi in Inghilterra dove trova lavoro alla reception del Planet Ice, un centro sportivo indoor a Milton Keynes. Approfittando delle lezioni gratuite per i dipendenti, nel 2003 prova a sciare nella struttura coperta lungo una discesa di neve artificiale, dove capisce subito di essere molto agile e veloce. Nel dicembre 2004, appoggiato dalla famiglia, abbandona le cuffie da centralinista per dedicarsi allo sci: si fa confezionare un casco e una tuta da sci leopardati. I giornalisti lo...

Read the full story here

Torino 2006 avra un protagonista particolare. Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong viene dal Ghana e sara l'unico rappresentante del suo paese a partecipare ai Giochi: Fino a qualche anno fa non avevo mai visto la neve - ha detto il ghanese, che si allena in Trentino, a TgCom - poi ho iniziato su una collina artificiale, e ora sogno Torino. Per affinare la mia tecnica ho studiato Tomba. I giamaicani del bob? Si, mi ispiro anche a loro.
Read the full story here

Rarely do you associate an African with skiing, but Ghanaian Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong wants to enter uncharted territory.

Nkrumah-Acheampong only took up skiing two years ago.

As Ghana's first professional skier, he aims to compete next February in the downhill race at the winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Nkrumah-Acheampong, who loves to be referred to as the snow leopard, was actually born in the Scottish city of Glasgow, but grew up in Ghana's capital, Accra, where the nearest most people get to snow is imagining cold cotton wool.

The first time I saw snow was on TV back home in Ghana, Nkrumah-Acheampong told the BBC's Fast Track programme.

Watching skiing then, I loved the way the skiers turned, moved fast in a zigzag manner and I said to myself, Some day I'll ski!

Read the full story here

First there was Britain's Eddie the Eagle, then there was Eric the Eel from Equatorial Guinea. Now Ghana is on the verge of getting its very own heroic failure in the form of Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, 30, a former safari gamekeeper who plans to compete in the Olympic downhill, slalom and giant slalom skiing competitions, despite having skied on snow for the first time last December.

Read the full story here

Success in Val Thorens for Kwame

In his first official FIS race ever in Val Thorens, the highest resort in the French Alps, Kwame managed a fantastic result against very experienced racers from Germany, France, Austria and other superpower winter sports nations.

Out of 111 racers, Kwame came 68th .

This really is a fantastic result for any racer in his or her first race but for Kwame, it's a remarkable achievement. I would be amazed if any one of the other racers had until a few weeks ago, never even been on a mountain!

Before this race, Kwame had 1000 FIS points. He requires 140 FIS points in order to qualify for the Winter Olympics of 2006 which is a huge part of his overall challenge. With such a great performance in his first race, Kwame is now on 614.65 FIS points which is a huge step towards qualification.

The whole event was filmed by Granada TV and Easyjet's programme, Airport. As soon as we know when this is due to be screened, we will let you know.

Kwame was also filmed at the Xscape centre in Milton Keynes with his coach Dave Jacobs, in Luton, in Meribel during training and in Val Thorens during the race.

This will be fantastic exposure for Kwames challenge and for Team Ghana.

As well as this, Easy Jet have now confirmed that they will fund most flights that Kwame requires to compete all across the world. This is fantastic support and will give Kwame a fantastic chance of qualification for Turin 2006.

Taking full advantage of this news, Dave Jacobs got Kwame organised on a trip to the Dizin resort in Iran for FIS qualification races, starting on Thursday 24 th February. Kwame will have the opportunity here to enter 6 FIS races and will have a great chance to gain valuable points. It's not unthinkable that he could reach the 140 points target at only his second destination. Watch this space!!!

Nightmare journey to Iran for Kwame...

After over 2 days in Airports without food or sleep in a desperate bid to get to Iran in time for crucial races, Kwame now knows just what a complete challenge this is rapidly becoming!

You are about to find out just what Kwame went through to get to Iran for some crucial qualification races. It's upsetting stuff, I suggest you sit down.

21.02.05 (Monday)

11:00am / Easyjet confirm full backing for Kwame and offer to fund any Flight that they can around the world.

12:00am / Dave Jacobs gets in touch with Neal Collins from Easyjet who books Kwame on a flight from Paris to Tehran , Iran , leaving on Wednesday @ 2.00pm to Amsterdam and from there onto Iran .

22.02.05 (Tuesday)

4.00pm / Kwames train for Paris leaves from near Meribel at 10.00pm . Unfortunately, without any money, Kwame has to borrow money from Clive @ the Barometer bar to cover train & cab fares.

10.00pm / Train leaves on time (remember we are in France ) and gets into Paris for 6.00am .

23.02.05 (Wednesday)

6.30am / Kwame has to get a taxi to the Iranian embassy to pick up his Visa. Unfortunately knowone told him this would cost around 80 Pounds. Kwame is now almost broke...

11.30am / Kwame at this point is still without a passport. He picks this up from a Bar in the Airport, where it was left by Alex, the French Ski Race coach. (this is another story that may well be in Kwames book sometime next year).

02.00pm / Kwames flight to Amsterdam is delayed. When he arrives at the airport, the flight to Iran has already left. He has to spend most of the day in Amsterdam airport.

Kwame is due to race at 10.00am on Thursday morning. He has no money, has had very little sleep since Tuesday morning and hasnt eaten for hours.

(From here is Kwmes own account - enjoy)

Finally got to Amsterdam and been told there is no hope of getting to iran today. Been provided with hotel accommodation at the Ibis Hotel close to the airport. I get to meet Ghanaians working at the hotel when I go for breakfast in the morning. Guess what? One of the Ghanaians [a lady] is from my fathers hometown and knows my family.

24.02.05 (Thursday)

Had a nice breakfast got to the airport and caught my flight. I am sitting in the plane and realise we are not moving, and then the pilot informs us that the plane has to be de-iced. After we had waited for about an our, the pilot informed us that there apparently was no need for de-icing. Checked my watch on the flight and realised I had about 20 minutes to catch the flight to Iran from Charles de Gaulle.Got to Charles de Gaulle, ran all the way to the gate, phew got there in time.

Still 15 minutes left before departure and it seems the plane has also been delayed due to de-icing. Presented my boarding pass at the gate and the lady manning the gate tells me the last bus to the plane is gone so she cant let me board the plane. I told her I am prepared to run all the way to the plane, well after a bit of arguing I decide to go to the customer service desk, where I am told I will have to sleep in Paris , and then catch a flight back to Amsterdam for a plane to Iran. I totally refused and told them that I did not care how they got me to Iran , but if they wanted peace they were going to have to do it.

It occurred to me that I could get a flight on another airline. I mentioned this to them and they refused, saying that though British airways would be flying to Iran they did not have any sort of business relationship that could facilitate a transfer. So I was told I had to buy 2 tickets, one to the UK and the other from the UK to Iran . I asked to speak to someone who could help me and was directed to the KLM helpdesk since the French Air France desk was being totally unhelpful. The KLM gentleman understood what I was saying and booked the flights and apologized for all the discomfort caused. I am yet to lodge my official complaint letter which I will do soon.

6.40pm / Well I flew from France to Heathrow and arrived at 6.40 pm. I then had to wait till 10.05pm before catching the flight to Tehran Iran

All through my journey I took it upon myself to make sure my luggage was always put on the plane I was flying on. At Charles de Gaulle I checked everything and had to describe my luggage since they could not find any trace of my bags. At Heathrow I was told my luggage had made it. At the check in desk I asked if my luggage had been put on the plane for Tehran, the check in desk official could not confirm anything. So I had to wait till the last minute before asking again. I was then told everything was okay and I should not worry.

24/feb I arrived at 7.30am . I had a lovely flight and saw some fantastic scenery on the way in. upon arriving I went to collect my luggage. I waited till the luggage belt stopped and none of my bags had shown up. I went to the baggage office at the airport and was informed that none of my stuff came with the flight and they would come the next day. What a journey eh. I was lucky Mr Shemshaki from the ski association of Iran was waiting to pick me up. The other guys from the French team that left Meribel were surprised to see me there. I arrived at the ski resort just as they were finishing the 2 slalom race. To top of my bad all round journey, I was told that the race schedule had been changed so out of the 3 giant slaloms [which I was there for] 2 had already been run. I just could not believe my bad luck.

25.02.05 (Friday)

Woke up and had some breakfast. There is going to be slalom today and some of the guys said I should just do it for the fun of competing. So I got kit from various racers, though no cat suit. I raced in a pair of ski trousers and my hoody which I had been wearing for the past 3 days. After the race I got back and heard the good news that my luggage had arrived, though no skis had come. So now I had my boots and cat suit.

26.02.05 (Saturday)

Race at Dizin, giant slalom. We took a 30 min drive to Dizin for the Giant Slalom race, and my oh my Dizin is a lovely place. Well I had 2 good runs and even made up 5 secs on the leader in the second round to give me 230 points.


27.02.05 (Sunday)

Entered for my second slalom race, mind you I had not done any slalom training since I had concentrated on mainly giant slalom. Samir from Morocco gave me his slalom helmet after his race, and I managed to get in 2 runs with difficulty. Not too bad for my second slalom as I basically free skied short turns down the course. The race has given me the confidence to begin serious slalom training and I will be competing fully in slalom next season. Got back to the hotel and my skis had arrived. After all the races had ended here were my skis all intact with urgent dispatch stickers on them. The irony of the whole thing just made me laugh and all the other racers with me joined in.

28.02.05 (Sunday)

Got back to Tehran and spent 2 nights in Tehran . I did not do a lot of sight seeing, but had a nice time at the French Ambassadors residence and got to meet some very interesting people. I got a lift to the airport from the same kind gentleman who picked me up. Barring any ugly flight problems, I will definitely be going back to Iran next year.

Well Kwame is still out in resort training hard. The clock is ticking. Kwame will be entering his first race very soon. Find out when and where by visiting this site.

He is still full on committed to his mission and I still find it quite amazing that this man has given up a good job, left his wife and young baby behind here in the UK to pursue his dream of competing in international races and hopefully the Olympic Games.

7 months ago when I first met Kwame he was skiing in rental boots and on rental skis at the Snow Dome Milton Keynes having never seen or been on a real mountain. Back then Rob Cuss at Snow Dome got him on some decent kit to train on and coached him along with others such as Nick Plumbridge and Kiro Kotev. I then was approached by Kwame and nearly fell of my seat when he said what he wanted to do.

Being me and always well up for a challenge I said ok if your serious lets see if we can take it all the way!!! The goal for us both being to get to the Winter Olypic games in 2006 or 2010. This will show black Africans and other aspiring racers that if you put everything into it 100% with determination and focus you can achieve anything no matter what your colour or situation. I have always believed this and hope that we can put the message across to others not to give up. You have to make huge sacrifices and overcome many challenges put up by people who want to bring your dream down.

Ignore it! Focus! Give it your all!


I set about getting him kitted out with everything he required from basic racing kit to top resort training. Anyway he

Are you from Ghana and want to ski race? We have one team member who is showing what can be done, so if you have the same drive and ambition, if your internationally athletic or young and have an interest in trying your hand at ski racing then please get in touch.

Remember Kwame only started skiing two years ago.

Here are your options:
If you are based in UK within travelling distance of Milton Keynes -
training can be carried out at the indoor ski centre with the Ghana Ski Team. Get in touch with the Ghana Sports Ministry and let them know what you want to do and then contact us.

If you live elsewhere in UK - get in touch with the Ghana Sports Ministry & let them know what you want to do and then you can contact us. We will give you guidance on how to start out and get into ski racing.

If you live in Ghana - are internationally athletic and want to try something cool, get in touch with the Ghana Sports Ministry and let them know what you want to do and then contact us.

If you're from another country - and want advice on racing and training, then you can contact us and we will offer you as much help as we can.

The media attention that Kwame is getting is astounding. We have Euro Sport, Easy Jet Airline Programme, all of the previous TV, news papers, radio etc all wanting to do follow ups and features.
This must be worth something to someone?

Below is a list of the media attention Kwame has had so far and this is going to keep on coming as Kwame's campaign gets under way.

Television & Radio

BBC2 / Want to produce 2 seperate 5 minute features and then want to follow Kwames story throughout.

ITV / Want to produce a 5 minute feature and again want to follow the story as it develops.

Channel 4 Skiing / Want a 6 minute feature to run in a prime time new year slot.

Ginger productions / Have been in contact a few days ago and are very interested in doing a documentary.

Eurosport / Have been in touch to express their interest in the story.

Numerous radio stations want to have coverage of the story including BBC World service and BBC Radio Scotland.


Newspapers & Magazines

All of the following publications have run stories so far. They also all want follow up stories and are paying close attention to the story as it unfolds.

The Daily Telegraph
The Guardian
The Daily Mail

The Sun
The Citizen Milton Keynes [10 features]
The London Metro
Ski and Board Mag
Ski Club of Great Britain Mag



Internet

Numerous internet sites world wide have caught onto the story so far. A search for Kwame Acheampong or Ghana Ski Team will already generate massive results.