Akwasi Frimpong: Yeah, it’s more like Bobsledding or Luge, Luge is the one you go leg first. They are actually older versions of the sport, and are considered sister events of the same sport with the newer one being Skeleton. It however is not that new, because it has been around since back in the day, but Bobsled and Luge came in earlier.
Skeleton is a sport where you use a lot speed and strength in the beginning, because the first 50 meters is all about who is fast and who can push that sled, which weighs about an average of about 33 kilos. It is simply about who can push the sled fast enough and then dive on it and relax as you slide through the run.
ASM: What made you select Skeleton over Bobsledding?
Akwasi Frimpong: My background is Track and Field, so let me tell you a little bit about that part of my life. In 2012, I was a part of the Dutch pre-Olympic Relay Team in the 4x100 meter relay, but due to a tendon injury, I was unable to qualify with the A team to go to the London Olympics. It was then suggested to me to try bobsledding by the Dutch Bobsledding and Skeleton Federation. They said because of my speed, they could use somebody on their teams that could push the sled fast, so, I joined a four-man team. In Bobsledding you know you have a two man or four men teams.
I did make the Pre-Olympic team for the Netherlands. But then in again 2014 hoping be at the Olympics, this time; Sochi, Russia, to represent the Netherlands, I was not once again able to make the team since we had only one selected qualifier out of two sleds. The A team qualified, so for a second time I wasn’t able to fulfill my Olympic dream.
Three years had gone by and I had kind of settled down and wanted to use my degree to find a regular day job. I also wanted to start my own business as well as start a family. However, in 2015, I came to terms with that fact that I had some unfinished business and I talked to my wife about going back into sports to become an Olympian. My former Coach in the mean time had stayed in touch with me all the while, and said to me “I think Skeleton would be a really great fit for you, just because of your speed. It’s an individual athlete’s sports, just like Track and Field and I think that would be a great one for you”. I had to think about it for a little bit as to whether I really wanted to do something like that and my wife said, “Hey you need to make sure you like it, not just because you want to go to the Olympics, you have to make sure you like it”.
With Skeleton the adrenaline rush alone was very exciting and on top of that as I am able to be in control and see what I am doing. In Bobsledding I was in the back and I couldn’t see anything at all. With Skeleton I had control over my own performances, so I decided to do it, moreover this time I wanted to do something for my country of origin; Ghana.
I’m thirty-one years old and I’ve done a lot in the Netherlands as an athlete, and as a person. In the US there is a Track and Field meet named after me for charity work I have done. So, I found myself thinking I had not done anything yet for the place I was born in (Ghana). All the talents I have, my physique and things like that, come from there and so I decided I wanted to do something for Ghana.