Alexander Hassenstein | Bongarts | Getty Images
Akwasi Frimpong of Ghana competes at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Championships on February 24, 2017, in Koenigssee, Germany.
Frimpong was born and raised in Ghana, but moved to the Netherlands aged eight, initially as an illegal immigrant. Exceling at sprinting, he first dreamed of representing the Netherlands at London 2012 but was beset by injury.
Skeleton came to Frimpong later in his career – after experimenting with bobsledding he turned to the sport in 2016.
“I set myself the goal of becoming the first African to win a medal in Winter Olympic history. I knew it would take me four to six years to become really good, so initially my target was the 2022 Games. But when I started racing in 2016, I surprised myself,” he said in a story on the official Olympics website.
