8 things you need to know about the beautiful lady who will be representing Kenya in skiing at the Olympics

dennis kibet

February 8, 2017 1:38 PM

Kenyans are known for their unparalleled prowess on the track, their muscle in rugby and for our impressive javelin throw at the field event, but one thing we are not known for is skiing. Because it doesn’t snow in Kenya.

Sabrina Wanjiku Simader

But despite the snow working against us when it comes to skiing, we have hope in one Sabrina Wanjiku Simader who will be representing the +254 at the 2018 winter Olympics.

She will become the second Kenyan and the first Kenyan woman to represent us at this world event .The first Kenyan to participate in the Winter Olympics was Philip Kimely Boit who represented us in Cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Here are a few facts you should know about the skier who will be representing the country at the Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea:

1. Born in Kenya 18 years ago, Sabrina moved to Austria alongside her mother and started skiing when she was 3 and won her first championship at 13 years.

2. She was the only African starter in the women's Super Giant Slalom a.k.a super-G race at the 2017 Alpine Ski World Championships, in St. Moritz, Switzerland. A race that is considered extremely challenging and super-fast.

3. Aside from the Alpine Ski World Championships, other major races she has participated in include the World Cup in Slovenia and the Giant Slalom in Marburg, Germany.

4. She speaks 5 languages, Kikuyu, Kiswahili, German, English, and Italian.

5. After her mother Sarah divorced her biological father, she married Josef. Her step-father who runs a ski lift in Hansberg played a huge role in getting her into skiing as he introduced her to the sport at an early age. In addition, Sabrina grew up under the influence of Josef's two kids were already professional skiiers.

6. She honed her mad skiing skills alongside other professional-skiing hopefuls at Schladming-Dachstein region in Austria which is known for its winter sport centres and also at the four-race Winter Youth Olympics program in Norway.

7. Aside from skiing, she enjoys swimming, golf and bike riding but skiing remains her number one passion.

8. Unfortunately for her, her Olympic dreams are hitting a snag because she doesn't have support from Kenya as she hasn't gotten any funding from the Kenyan Olympic committee despite meeting the officials at the Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

Maybe because the Olympic committee was disbanded over the rampant corruption experienced during the Rio De Janiero Olympics.

Either way, i think its amazing that we have a Kenyan representing us in a challenging-rarely-done game at the Winter Olympics and we wish her the best in her endeavours.

Additional reporting by: yahoo.com, mkenyaujerumani

dennis kibet