Several tropical nations have participated in the Winter Olympics despite not having the climate for winter sports. Partly because of that, their entries are a subject of human interest stories during the Games.[1][2][3] No tropical nation has ever won a Winter Olympic medal.

The team from Ghana during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In 2014, Michael Christian Martinez became the first Filipino, the first Southeast Asian, and the first male figure skater from a tropical country in the Winter Olympics, as well as the first Philippine Winter Olympian in 22 years.

The first warm-weather, but not fully tropical, nation participating in the Winter Olympics was Mexico. Much of Mexico is at a latitude north of the Tropic of Cancer, and most of the country has a subtropical highland or semi-arid climate, so it is not exclusively a tropical nation. Nonetheless, Mexico made its Winter Olympic debut at the 1928 Winter Olympics[4] with a five-man bobsleigh team that finished eleventh of twenty-three entrants.[5] Mexico did not return again to the Winter Games until the 1984 Winter Olympics.[6]

The first truly tropical nation to compete in the Winter Olympic Games was the Philippines, who sent two alpine skiers to the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.[7] Ben Nanasca placed 42nd in giant slalom skiing (out of 73 entrants), and Juan Cipriano did not finish. In slalom skiing, neither skier was able to finish. Costa Rica became the second tropical nation to participate at the Winter Games, in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York,[8] where Arturo Kinch also competed in alpine skiing events. Kinch would continue to compete for Costa Rica at three more Winter Games, including the 2006 Winter Olympics at age 49. There he finished 96th in the 15 km cross-country skiing event, ahead of only Prawat Nagvajara of Thailand, another tropical nation.[3][9]

The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada attracted many tropical nations, including Costa Rica, Fiji, Guam, Guatemala, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands.[10] The Jamaica bobsleigh team became a fan favorite at these Games[11] and were later the inspiration of the 1993 motion picture Cool Runnings. In the 1994 Winter Olympics six years later, the Jamaican four-man sled placed a creditable fourteenth, ahead of the United States and Russia, while Jamaican-born bobsledder Lascelles Brown won silver for Canada in 2006.

The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy marked the Winter Games debut of Ethiopia[2] and Madagascar.[12] The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada saw the debut of the Cayman Islands, Colombia, Peru,[13] and Ghana.[14] The 2014 Winter Olympics saw the debut of Dominica, Paraguay, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, and Zimbabwe. The 2018 Winter Olympics saw the debut of Ecuador, Eritrea, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Singapore. The 2022 Winter Olympics saw the debut of Haiti.

List of participating tropical nations

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World map with tropical latitudes highlighted in red
 
World map with tropical climates highlighted in red

This list of nations includes those that lie entirely or predominantly[clarification needed] within the tropical latitudes and also have a mostly tropical climate according to the Köppen climate classification system. Years of Winter Olympic Games participation are shown.

Africa
  Cameroon (CMR) 2002
  Eritrea (ERI) 2018–2022
  Ethiopia (ETH) 2006–2010
  Ghana (GHA) 2010, 2018-2022
  Kenya (KEN) 1998–2006, 2018
  Madagascar (MAD) 2006, 2018–2022
  Nigeria (NGR) 2018–2022
  Senegal (SEN) 1984, 1992–1994, 2006–2010
  Togo (TOG) 2014–2018
  Zimbabwe (ZIM) 2014
 
Americas
  Bolivia (BOL) 1956, 1980–1992, 2018–2022
  British Virgin Islands (IVB) 1984, 2014
  Brazil (BRA) 1992–2022
  Cayman Islands (CAY) 2010–2014
  Colombia (COL) 2010, 2018–2022
  Costa Rica (CRC) 1980–1992, 2006
  Dominica (DMA) 2014
  Ecuador (ECU) 2018–2022
  Guatemala (GUA) 1988
  Haiti (HAI) 2022
  Honduras (HON) 1992
  Jamaica (JAM) 1988–2002, 2010–2022
  Netherlands Antilles (AHO) 1988–1992
  Paraguay (PAR) 2014
  Peru (PER) 2010–2014, 2022
  Puerto Rico (PUR) 1984–2002, 2018–2022
  Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) 1994–2002, 2022
  Venezuela (VEN) 1998–2006, 2014
  Virgin Islands (ISV) 1988–2006, 2014, 2022
 
Asia-Pacific
  American Samoa (ASA) 1994, 2022
  Fiji (FIJ) 1988, 1994, 2002
  Guam (GUM) 1988
  Tonga (TGA) 2014–2018
  Hong Kong (HKG) 2002–2022
  Malaysia (MAS) 2018–2022
  Philippines (PHI) 1972, 1988–1992, 2014–2022
  Singapore (SGP) 2018
  Thailand (THA) 2002–2006, 2014–2022
  East Timor (TLS) 2014–2022

Other warm-weather nations (located in the subtropics, for example) that have competed in the Winter Games include Australia (which has a tropical far north, and became the first Southern Hemisphere nation to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 2002), Bermuda, Chinese Taipei, Eswatini, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay and several North African nations including Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.

Tonga sought to make its Winter Olympic debut at the 2010 Winter Olympics by entering a single competitor in luge, attracting some media attention, but he crashed in the final round of qualifying.[15] Two years later, he attracted media attention again when it was discovered he had altered his name to that of one of his sponsors, a lingerie firm, as a marketing stunt. He was, at that time, in training to attempt to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics.[16][17]

Notable winter Olympians from tropical nations

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Philip Boit was the first Kenyan to participate in the Winter Olympics.
 
Lamine Guèye, the first Black African skier to take part in a Winter Olympics.
Name Nation Sport
Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda   Eritrea alpine skiing
Anne Abernathy   Virgin Islands luge
Simidele Adeagbo   Nigeria skeleton
Seun Adigun   Nigeria bobsleigh
Bruno Banani   Tonga luge
Judd Bankert   Guam biathlon
Iginia Boccalandro   Venezuela luge
Philip Boit   Kenya cross-country skiing
Lascelles Brown   Jamaica[nb 1] bobsleigh
Edson Bindilatti   Brazil bobsleigh
Roberto Carcelen   Peru cross-country skiing
Pedro Causil   Colombia speed skating
Karen Chanloung   Thailand cross-country skiing
Mark Chanloung   Thailand cross-country skiing
Isabel Clark Ribeiro   Brazil snowboarding
Mialitiana Clerc   Madagascar alpine skiing
Cynthia Denzler   Colombia alpine skiing
Alessia Dipol   Togo alpine skiing
Erroll Fraser   British Virgin Islands speed skating
Akwasi Frimpong   Ghana skeleton
Yohan Goutt Gonçalves   East Timor alpine skiing
Alphonse Gomis   Senegal alpine skiing
Lamine Guèye   Senegal alpine skiing
Werner Hoeger   Venezuela luge
Errol Kerr   Jamaica freestyle skiing
Arturo Kinch   Costa Rica alpine skiing and cross-country skiing
Eric Maleson   Brazil bobsleigh
Michael Christian Martinez   Philippines figure skating
Andrew McNeilly   Trinidad and Tobago bobsleigh
Isaac Menyoli   Cameroon cross-country skiing
Renato Mizoguchi   Brazil luge
Jaqueline Mourão   Brazil biathlon and cross-country skiing
Prawat Nagvajara   Thailand cross-country skiing
Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong   Ghana alpine skiing
Raymond Ocampo   Philippines luge
Akuoma Omeoga   Nigeria bobsleigh
Ngozi Onwumere   Nigeria bobsleigh
Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean   Togo cross-country skiing
Ricardo Raschini   Brazil bobsleigh and luge
Mathieu Razanakolona   Madagascar alpine skiing
Rusiate Rogoyawa   Fiji cross-country skiing
Alexia Arisarah Schenkel   Thailand alpine skiing
Leyti Seck   Senegal alpine skiing
Sabrina Simader   Kenya alpine skiing
Luke Steyn   Zimbabwe alpine skiing
Kanes Sucharitakul   Thailand alpine skiing
Robel Teklemariam   Ethiopia cross-country skiing
Michael Teruel   Philippines alpine skiing
Laurence Thoms   Fiji alpine skiing
Dow Travers   Cayman Islands alpine skiing
George Tucker   Puerto Rico luge
Vanessa Vanakorn   Thailand alpine skiing
Hubertus von Hohenlohe   Mexico alpine skiing
Isadora Williams   Brazil figure skating
Nicola Zanon   Thailand alpine skiing

Winter Paralympic Games

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As of 2022, only three tropical nations have been represented at the Winter Paralympic Games.[18] Tofiri Kibuuka of Uganda competed in cross-country skiing at the inaugural edition of the Winter Paralympics in 1976 and again at the 1980 Games.[19] After Kibuuka obtained Norwegian nationality, he began to compete for Norway at the Paralympics starting in 1984, winning several medals in athletics at the Summer Paralympics. Brazil sent two athletes as part of its debut at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. Puerto Rico sent one athlete as part of its debut at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.

Africa
  Uganda (UGA) 1976–1980
Americas
  Brazil (BRA) 2014–2022
  Puerto Rico (PUR) 2022
Name Nation Sport
Tofiri Kibuuka   Uganda cross-country skiing
Fernando Aranha   Brazil cross-country skiing
André Cintra   Brazil snowboard cross
Aline Rocha   Brazil cross-country skiing
Cristian Ribera   Brazil cross-country skiing

Winter Youth Olympic Games

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Five tropical nations were represented at the First Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Africa
  Eritrea (ERI) 2012
  Kenya (KEN) 2016–2024
  Nigeria (NGR) 2024
 
Americas
  Brazil (BRA) 2012–2024
  Cayman Islands (CAY) 2012
  Colombia (COL) 2016–2024
  Ecuador (ECU) 2020
  Haiti (HAI) 2020
  Jamaica (JAM) 2016–2024
  Peru (PER) 2012
  Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) 2020
 
Asia
  Hong Kong (HKG) 2020–2024
  Malaysia (MAS) 2016–2020
  Philippines (PHI) 2012, 2020–2024
  Singapore (SGP) 2020–2024
  Thailand (THA) 2020–2024
  East Timor (TLS) 2016

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Brown competed for Jamaica in the 2002 Games, but has competed for Canada since 2006.

References

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  1. ^ Brown, Gerry. "Beyond the Jamaican Bobsledders". Infoplease. Retrieved September 16, 2006.
  2. ^ a b "Ethiopia first at Winter Olympics". BBC News. February 10, 2006. Retrieved September 16, 2006.
  3. ^ a b Bunce, Steve (February 17, 2006). "The crazy race – only the potty need apply". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 31, 2008.[dead link]
  4. ^ Comité Olympique Suisse (1928). Rapport Général du Comité Exécutif des IImes Jeux Olympiques d'hiver (PDF) (in French). Lausanne: Imprimerie du Léman. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 10, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  5. ^ Comité Olympique Suisse (1928). Résultats des Concours des IImes Jeux Olympiques d'hiver (PDF) (in French). Lausanne: Imprimerie du Léman. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  6. ^ Official Report of the Organising Committee of the XlVth Winter Olympic Games 1984 at Sarajevo (PDF). Sarajevo: Oslobodenje. 1984. pp. 89–90. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  7. ^ The Official Report of XIth Winter Olympic Games, Sapporo 1972 (PDF). The Organizing Committee for the Sapporo Olympic Winter Games. 1973. pp. 32, 145, 447. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  8. ^ Final Report XIII Olympic Winter Games (PDF). Ed Lewi Associates. pp. 6, 12, 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  9. ^ "Turin 2006 Winter Olympics – Cross Country Results". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on March 22, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  10. ^ Janofsky, Michael (February 7, 1988). "'88 Winter Olympics; Calgary Has It Down Cold". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  11. ^ Harasta, Cathy (February 20, 1988). "Jamaican bobsledders want to dispel jokes about tropical entry in wintry sport". The Dallas Morning News.
  12. ^ "Madagascar prepares for its first winter Olympic appearance ever in Turin 2006" (PDF) (Press release). rAzAlpin.org. November 28, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  13. ^ Brewer, Jerry (February 4, 2010). "Peruvian cross-country skier Roberto Carcelén reaches Olympic dream". The Seattle Times.
  14. ^ Wyatt, Ben; Gittings, Paul (February 27, 2010). "Snow Leopard continues proud African tradition at Winter Games". CNN. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  15. ^ Hofman, Helene (February 1, 2010). "Tongan athlete narrowly misses out on Winter Olympics". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  16. ^ Kingston, Gary (December 2, 2011). "Tonga's chosen one takes aim at Sochi luging". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011.
  17. ^ Tong, Andrew (February 5, 2012). "Outside Edge: Liar, liar, pants on fire in the snow". The Independent. Archived from the original on July 14, 2016.
  18. ^ "IPC Historical Results database". International Paralympic Committee.
  19. ^ "Tofiri Kibuuka". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee.