(NEXSTAR) — It seems like the Summer Olympics in Tokyo were just yesterday.
Now, it’s time to talk about the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The games start in February, and each Friday until then, 10 On Your Side will bring you stories of athletes going for gold.
This week, meet an athlete, enterpreneuer and motivational speaker who’s training for his second Olympic Games.
Three years ago, Akwasi Frimpong made history. He was the first-ever skeleton athlete from Ghana to compete at the Olympics.
“You cannot just think you’ve been to the Olympic Games and that’s it. You gotta keep up with the hard work, you gotta stay hungry, you gotta keep grinding,” Frimpong said.
That’s exactly what he’s doing — and he’s currently doing it in Russia.
Frimpong lives in Utah, but he’s been training twice a day in Russia for the past eight weeks.
“Russia is the only nation that reached out to me that they were willing to support me. It took a while for them to think about it, for them to talk to the federation and their team about it because it is another athlete they have to give attention to. They came back with a great answer, they were willing to support me for Beijing 2022,” he said.
They’re supporting a winner.
Last February, Frimpong won a sanctioned competition in Park City, Utah.
“And I was the first African ever to win an elite skeleton race. So I’ve been doing well, obviously, there is still a lot of work to be done,” he said.
That work includes getting healthy.
Frimpong has been dealing with a nagging Achilles injury.
But he says he’ll be good to go for Beijing.