One last slalom for Eritrean trailblazer Abeda

Eritrean athlete Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda took up skiing reluctantly but will retire after his third Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina following a career forged against the odds.

The 29-year-old, who has a fulltime job in engineering, will compete in the slalom and giant slalom, having retired last January before being lured back to the sport.

Born in the small Canadian town of Fort McMurray, where his father worked as an engineer, a move to Calgary close to the Rocky Mountains at the age of seven meant opportunity knocked in skiing, even if he admits he was pushed into it by his parents.

"At the age of nine or 10 I went to what they called the Junior Olympics in Alberta and finished third in my age group," Abeda told Reuters.

"I had a coach at the time who pushed me out of my comfort zone and through his mentorship, I realised this was a sport that I really loved."

AFRICAN SKIERS

The sight of a skier of African descent on the slopes in Canada made him stand out, not always in a positive way.

"Growing up I did struggle to see my place in this (skiing) community, because I definitely stuck out. And there were comments made, unfortunately, so I was well aware of my difference.

"But when I went to (the 2018 Winter Olympics in) Pyongyang, there were eight African countries, so more people like me. The first time I saw another African athlete was (Kenyan) Sabrina Simader training in Austria. That made me feel less alone."

The opportunity to compete for Eritrea came via a friend of Abeda’s father and he admits it was at first a very selfish decision in order to get to the Olympics, the first from his country to do so.

"It became more about trying to foster an environment that is more inclusive to people like me, and trying to encourage members of my (Eritrean) community, especially in the diaspora, that they don't have to stick to certain norms," he said.

"We have three other athletes now and there is definitely a future for Eritrea in Winter sports."

In Pyongyang, Abeda came 61st in the giant slalom and did not finish the slalom.

That improved to 39th in the giant slalom in Beijing in 2022 and having decided to hang up his skis professionally after the Milano Cortina Games, he is targeting a top-40 place again in both disciplines.

"I know this is the last time. I want to close this chapter of my life to the best of my ability," Abeda says. "I'm going to be 30 next year, I envisioned different things in my life at this point, and I'm not ashamed of that.

"I want to be able to focus on my family and my professional career (as an engineer) and have always wanted to have kids and be able to raise them to be ski racers. So that's the next step."