Sixteen-year-old Ashley Tshanda believes it is a huge responsibility for her to represent the country at the 2024 Youth Winter Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea
Winter Olympics started on Friday last week and will end on February 1. Tshanda is scheduled to take part in her opening event on January 29 at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.
The cross-country skier made it to the Winter Games after securing a quota slot based on her International Ski Federation (FIS) ranking of the women’s Youth Olympic Games quota allocation lists as of December 18, 2023.
She will be the first-ever Kenyan and the first-ever African to compete in cross-country skiing at a Winter Youth Olympic Games.
She will be joined by fellow Kenyan Issa Laborde who has been representing Kenya since 2022 in Alpine Skiing and currently resides in France.
“It's a big responsibility because I know so many people now know about me,” she said.
She added: “Picking Kenya was a good choice as the country is always top in the sports. When I learned that I had the chance to compete at Gangwon, I started crying. It’s still like a dream. I am happy, so excited.”
The 16-year-old was born in Italy and holds dual Kenyan and Italian citizenship. She trains at an Italian sports school, Bachmann Sports College, under some of the best ski instructors.
This is where she has honed her skills and gained notable success at various competitions.
Tshanda is keen to soar on the Olympic snow and has modeled herself on the trailblazing journey of Philip Boit, the first Kenyan to compete at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan in 1998.
Boit finished 92nd in the competition and last in the 10km classic race but gained worldwide media coverage.
She further added that it was time for Africa to embrace winter sports and hoped that she could be an inspiration to other young people on the continent.
“I hope that many other young people can see it as an amazing opportunity to try skiing. I think it’s time for Africa to fully come into winter sport.”