VOA新闻杂志--非洲运动员呼吁让更多非洲人参加冬奥

Could More Africans Participate in Winter Olympics?

There are over 1 billion people living in Africa, and many other Africans living around the world. But there were only six athletes representing Africa in this year's Beijing Winter Olympics. Can the International Olympic Committee get more Africans into the Winter Olympics?

That is the question some African athletes were asking over the final days of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The Summer Olympics see "a rainbow of nations represented," said Simidele Adeagbo, a skeleton¹ racer who competed for Nigeria in 2018. After all, the sign of the Games, five interconnected rings, represents the five populated continents on Earth..

The IOC says it is trying to help the athletes of small nations, and those that live in warm-weather nations, participate in the Winter Olympics. It gives financial aid to athletes around the world with the hope that they will be able to get better at their sports. However, some athletes question the distribution² of funding. Out of over 400 who received aid, there were 295 Europeans and only 16 Africans.

Even with the support, the number of Africans at this year's Olympics decreased by half since the 2018 Olympics in South Korea. Athletes from Eritrea, Ghana, Morocco, Madagascar and Nigeria returned. Kenya, South Africa and Togo dropped out.

Skiing – both in the mountains and cross-country – was the only event with African athletes. Mialitiana Clerc, born in Madagascar and adopted by a French couple, was the only woman.

There were no Africans in bobsled or skeleton, unlike in 2018.

Adeagbo, the Nigerian skeleton racer, asked if it was an Olympics for the world, or just Europeans?

Perhaps the best way to make sure more athletes from Africa get into the winter Olympics is to make sure there are more examples of Africans in the events.

This year, the East African nation of Eritrea had one Olympian in Beijing, Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda. Abeda finished 39th of 46 athletes who competed in the giant slalom event on February 13. While Abeda was not victorious³ in his event, he was pleased to hear that an Eritrean living in Germany plans to practice cross-country skiing and aim for the 2026 Winter Games.

Abeda said learning⁴ of the Eritrean skier⁵ made all the work he did leading up to this year's Olympics worth it.

One reason there were so few Africans at the Olympics is that the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, made it harder for athletes from small nations to qualify⁶ this year compared to 2018.

The organization said it will reconsider qualification rules before the 2026 Olympics.

Adeagbo said African athletes are "just as capable⁷" as athletes from the rest of the world if they get the support they need. She said she hopes the lack of African representation⁸ this year will help "everyone ... think about a different way forward."

James Macleod is director of an IOC program that offered aid to athletes trying to qualify for Beijing. He only said: "There are five continents represented here."

Four years ago, Abeda said, "it was really great to see more Africans. At these Games, there's very little, so I am disappointed."

Abeda was born in Canada after his parents escaped the war in Eritrea. He said the money he received from the IOC - $1,500 per month – paid for his living, training, coaching and equipment. He believes more Africans could compete in the Winter Olympics with similar support.

With skeleton sleds costing $4,000 and bobsleds costing about $40,000, funding is important. Adeagbo said the Olympics should not just be for the "privileged⁹, and these are the things that we need to have real conversations about."

The IOC, along with another Olympic expert, said the COVID-19 pandemic slowed Africa's progress in the Winter Olympics. Cobus Rademeyer, from a university in South Africa, has written about Africans in the Olympics. He said the continent should return stronger in 2026. He called the participation¹⁰ of Africans "an inspiration¹¹ for many."

Carlos Maeder of Ghana was adopted by Swiss parents. He competed in the giant slalom, but failed to finish. He is 43. He said he will keep skiing as long as it takes to find Ghanaians who can follow in his footsteps¹².

"I hope that these games will be a door-opener," he said. "It's not just about the African continent: We are spread around the world. So that makes it important that our continent is represented."

Words in This Story

athlete –n. a person who is trained or good at sports

rainbow –n. relating to people of different cultures and races

adopt – v. to take in a child from other parents legally as your own

qualify – v. to pass an exam or do something that gives someone the right to compete

capable –adj. able to do something

critical –adj. something extremely important

privileged –adj. having special rights or advantages that most people do not have

inspiration –n. something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create

1 skeleton   

n.骨骼，框架，骨干，梗概，提要

参考例句：

• A long illness made a skeleton out of him.长期的卧病使他骨瘦如柴。
• Her notes gave us just the bare skeleton of her theory.她的笔记只给我们提供了她的理论的梗概。

2 distribution   

n.运送；分发，分配；分布，分布状态

参考例句：

• The conference discussed the fair distribution of income and wealth.会议讨论了公平分配收入和财富的问题。
• Unequal distribution of wealth may cause division in society.财富分配不均会引起社会分裂。

3 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 skier   

n.滑雪运动员

参考例句：

• She is a skier who is unafraid of danger.她是一名敢于冒险的滑雪者。
• The skier skimmed across the snow.滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。

6 qualify   

vt.取得资格，有资格，限定，描述；vi.取得资格，有资格

参考例句：

• I won't qualify until next year.我明年才具备资格。
• You must qualify yourself for the post.你必须使自己具备担任这一工作的资格。

7 capable   

adj.有能力的，有才能的

参考例句：

• The new woman secretary was extremely clever and capable.这位新来的女秘书很是精明强干。
• Jim is capable at sports.吉姆擅长运动。

8 representation   

n.表现某人（或某事物）的东西，图画，雕塑

参考例句：

• The painting is a representation of a storm at sea.这幅画描绘的是海上的暴风雨。
• All parties won representation in the national assembly.所有政党在国民大会中都赢得了代表资格。

9 privileged   

adj.享有特权的；特许的，专用的；秘密的，保密的；幸运的

参考例句：

• Those in authority were in a privileged position. 有地位者自有特权。
• a privileged Wasp background 享有特权的盎格鲁&dash1;撒克逊裔白人新教徒出身

10 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

11 inspiration   

n.灵感，鼓励者，吸气

参考例句：

• These events provided the inspiration for his first novel.这些事件给了他创作第一部小说的灵感。
• What an inspiration she was to all around her!她对于她周围所有的人是一种多么大的鼓舞！

12 footsteps   

n.脚步（声），一步的距离，足迹；脚步（声）( footstep的名词复数 )；一步的距离；足迹

参考例句：

• the sound of footsteps on the stairs 楼梯上的脚步声
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。