Ghanaians express high exceptions for sole athlete at Beijing Winter Olympics

ACCRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- With only one athlete competing at the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympics, some Ghanaians told Xinhua that they hope Ghanaian alpine skier Carlos Mader creates history for the West African country.

They told Xinhua that they were optimistic the sole athlete representing Ghana at the Winter Olympics would replicate the performance of compatriot Samuel Takyi, who won a bronze medal in boxing at the Summer Olympics in Japan last year.

Eric Tordzro, a physical education instructor at Chemu Senior High School in Tema, east of Ghana, said, "I expect Carlos Mader to win at least a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics since he has international exposure regarding Alpine skiing, which is, in fact, not popular in a tropical country."

Athletics enthusiast Angelina Amoabeng, 38, observed that despite the country's Winter Olympic medal drought, she was optimistic that Ghana will change the narrative in the Olympics this year.

Swiss-based 43-year-old Carlos Mader will compete in the men's giant slalom at the Beijing Winter Olympics, making him the third athlete to represent his country at the Winter Olympics after Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong and Akwasi Frimpong, who represented Ghana in the 2010 Vancouver Games and the 2018 PyeongChang respectively.

Born in Cape Coast, west of Ghana, Mader was adopted by a Swiss family. He represented Ghana in the 2019 World Ski Championships in Are, Switzerland. Mader qualified for the 2022 Winter Olympics last month by finishing fifth at the Cape Verde and Jamaica national championships.