Ghana skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, more commonly known as Snow Leopard, on Saturday achieved his Olympic goal — of not coming last in the slalom.
That dubious honour went to Albania’s Erjon Tola, who finished 48th, a massive one minute, 4.56 seconds behind Italian gold medallist Giuliano Razzoli.
Starting with bib number 102, Nkrumah-Acheampong completed the first leg in 53rd position in 21.29 seconds off Razzoli’s time.
But Tola elected to sidestep back up to a missed gate so he could at least complete the course, a move that cost the Albanian.
In the second run, the Glasgowborn, Accra-raised racer clocked the slowest time of all the racers but still clung on to his place above Tola, finishing 47th with a time of 2:22.60, 43.28 seconds behind the winner.
In difficult conditions during the first leg that included heavy rain and thick fog, 47 of the 102 starters failed to finish the course, including reigning world champion Manfred Pranger of Austria and three-time medal winner here, Bode Miller of the United States.
“I’ve got to check the list because I needed to beat some people,” said Nkrumah-Acheampong.
“It’s all about coming down and trying to beat some people. If I beat some people, then that’s a dream come true.
“I’ve been (competitively) skiing for just six years now and to finish an Olympic run in these conditions, I’m happy.”
Nkrumah-Acheampong said he had tried to block out the rousing reception afforded him as he approached the finish area.
“I could hear some sound but I was trying to concentrate on the rhythm of the gates. They were going cluckety-cluck. I thought ‘Oh God, don’t fall now.’ ”
Julien Cousineau, of Lachute, Que., was top Canadian, finishing eighth, 1.34 seconds behind. Whistler skier Michael Janyk placed 13th. Croatian Ivica Kostelic was second and Andre Myhrer of Sweden won the bronze medal.
