Kenya’s first female Alpine Skier, Sabrina Wanjiku Simader is set to compete at the 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Courchevel Tourisme and Meribel, France on Friday.
She will represent Kenya in two skiing events— the super G event on Friday and the downhill event on Saturday.
This is a qualification pathway offering the athletes important ranking points toward the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Also known as the ‘Snow Leopard’, Sabrina started skiing at the age of three in the snowy Alps of Austria.
Her African roots and her new homeland, represent a unique combination in the international winter sports arena.
Sabrina won the African European Sports Woman of the Year Award in 2017 and in 2019 hence featuring in the African Forbes Magazine under the “30 under 30” category.
Sabrina qualified for the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 and is now on the pathway to fly the country’s flag once again in Winter Olympics Milano Cortina 2026.
She has significantly raised the country’s profile in Winter Sports and she is said to be the media’s favourite whenever she is competing. Sabrina is also an ambassador at the UN Environment.
The Skiing World Championships is the highest level of the sport and draws participation from the best athletes from all over the world.
Kenya has participated in four Winter Olympics Games thus 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2018. Cross-country skier Philip Boit represented the nation from 1998 to 2006.
