Meet Kenya’s Only Alpine Ski Racer Who Wants to Retire at 27

Sabrina Wanjiku Simader is Kenya’s first and only Alpine Ski Racer, born in Kilifi, Kenya, on April 13, 1998.

At 27 and with the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy approaching, Sabrina should be preparing to conquer the sports world, but instead, Sabrina is contemplating early retirement due to abandonment by the Kenyan government.

Frustrated Sabrina

Despite representing Kenya on the world stage, Sabrina says she has received little to no institutional backing from Kenyan sports authorities. No winter sports federation. No training support. No visibility.

“I wear the Kenyan flag with pride, but I sometimes feel like I’m doing it alone. I have struggled to access financial support from my country, and I think it’s time up for me,” Sabrina said in a past interview with Australian media.

This has added to her exhaustion: constantly battling to be recognized and supported by the very country she fights to represent, both emotionally and financially.

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She has publicly expressed frustration over the lack of financial support from the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K), stating she has personally spent over Ksh12 million to fund her training and competitions over the past 11 years.

Stunning athletic career

At just 27, Sabrina has already experienced a full athletic career: Youth Olympics, Winter Olympics, World Cups, World Championships, and an ACL tear.

Sabrina’s competitive career began to gain prominence when she represented Kenya at the Winter Youth Olympics in 2016 in Lillehammer, Norway, at the age of 16. This marked her as the first African female alpine skier at such an event.

Her ambitions grew, and by 2017, she became the first African woman to compete on the Alpine Ski World Cup circuit, racing in Maribor, Slovenia, and later at the World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Her most historic achievement came in 2018 at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she became the first Kenyan woman and the second Kenyan ever to compete in alpine skiing.

This feat placed Kenya on the global skiing map, a country with no prior history in winter sports.

Best World Cup finishes include a 33rd place in Super‑G at Cortina d’Ampezzo 2022 and 39th in downhill at the 2024 World Championships.

At the 2023 World Championships in Courchevel, she competed in downhill and Super‑G, delivering solid performances.

Sabrina competed in the more challenging speed disciplines, downhill and Super G, defying expectations for racers from non-traditional skiing nations, who typically focus on slalom and giant slalom.

She suffered a torn ACL while training in March 2023, but after months of rehabilitation, she made a spirited return to competition at Cortina World Cup events in early 2024.

She now works with a new coaching team led by Lino Stüttler and is sponsored by Swiss company Brasidas Group AG for the 2023–24 season, embracing a mission of diversity, inclusion, and kindness in alpine skiing.

Awards & Loyalty to Kenya

Despite all the trouble, Simader has remained loyal to Kenya, even when she had the option to switch nationalities for better support.

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Her decision to represent Kenya was driven by pride and a desire to inspire African women in winter sports.

Sabrina has been honoured as African European Sports Woman of the Year (2017), the first Sports Black Austrian Award (2018) winner, and featured in Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 (2019).

She was also appointed UN Environment’s first “Mountain Hero” in 2018, advocating for climate change awareness and biodiversity protection in mountain regions.

Her retirement at 27, driven by institutional neglect and financial challenges, highlights the need for better support for athletes from underrepresented regions in winter sports.

Her legacy, however, endures as an inspiration for diversity and resilience in global sports.

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