No Eagle, but Snow Leopard heads for Games

An African skier, a blind nordic athlete, and an aerials ace pushing 50 hope to grab a share of the Winter Olympics spotlight in Vancouver and Whistler. Amongst the supporting cast at the February 12-28 showpiece will be Ghana skiier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, known popularly as Snow Leopard. He was born in Glasgow, brought up in Accra and didn't take up skiing until, having moved back to the UK to study, he started working at an indoor ski centre in Milton Keynes, central England. As Ghana's first winter Olympian, the 34-year-old follows in the footsteps of pioneers like Kenyan Philip Boit, the first black African to compete in a winter Olympics cross-country race and who will end his career in Vancouver.

Despite being ridiculed when first competing, Nkrumah-Acheampong ultimately wants to inspire fellow Ghanaians and Africans. But he admits the pressure to not embarrass himself and achieve his goal of "proving that I deserve to be there" is mounting. "It's crazy," he said. "Sometimes I wake up in the morning and ask myself, 'what have you gone and done?'" What Nkrumah-Acheampong does not want is to star in a freak show.

He has no desire to be like British ski jumper Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards, whose steamed-up, milk-bottle glasses and hapless performances at the 1988 Calgary Games, won him an energetic fan club. Much to the irritation of Olympic bosses, Edwards even eclipsed the performances of Finnish ski jump legend Matti Nykkanen. The International Olympic Committee consequently introduced the 'Eddie the Eagle' rule which effectively forces all Olympic hopefuls to qualify through various international events. But despite tightening entry, and thanks to the Olympic Solidarity programme which financially supports and encourages athletes from developing nations, the Olympic door remains open to those often labelled as 'no-hopers'.

Thanks to true Olympic spirit and determination, most of them have battled the odds just to stand beside the world's elite. "Just because somebody has a disability doesn't mean they are not training hard or are extremely fit," said cross country skier Brian McKeever, who will make history by competing both in the Olympics and Paralympics for Canada. After losing his sight at the age of 19 McKeever now lives with less than 10 percent vision, all of which is peripheral. Thanks to a recent victory in an able-bodied 50km event, the four-time Paralympic champion will compete with the world's best in Vancouver, albeit without the guide he is allowed to have at his side in the Paralympics.

For Argentina's Clyde Alejandro Getty age will be of no concern during the men's aerials competition - despite the fact that, at 48 years old, he could be the grandfather of the Games. During his last jump at Turin in 2006, Getty concluded a series of airborne manoeuvres by landing flat on his face. He finished 28th and last, but after receiving the crowd's approval he vowed to continue. "What matters is not age, what is important is what we carry in our hearts," said Getty, who was born in the US.