The 2022 Winter Olympics will take place Feb. 4-20 in Beijing, China, where more than 80 tropical nations are expected to compete. For the participating athletes, just qualifying is a huge feat as no athlete from a tropical country has ever won a medal in the Winter Games.
Jamaica’s iconic bobsled team, depicted in the Disney movie “Cool Runnings,” may come to mind when you think of athletes from warm-weather countries defying the odds to compete in a winter sport. Then there’s the story of Alpine skier Shannon-Ogbani Abeda, born in Canada after his parents fled war in their home country of Eritrea. Abeda will represent Eritrea at the Winter Games.
For many of these athletes, it’s more than just adapting to a frigid environment by wearing extra layers of clothing. There are other factors, especially for those just starting out, such as…
