Chilling out: tropical nations at the Winter Olympics
When poring over the list of nations that have sent representatives to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, there are a number of easily observable trends among the countries' ranks.
First, and most obvious, is the skew toward nations located at far northern latitudes. Of course it's a fact that in places where the average temperature is colder and snow and ice are more prevalent during a longer period of the year, interest and participation in winter sports are greater.
Russia and Canada, the countries with the world's two largest landmasses, the majority of which are located in frigid, snow-covered regions of the globe, are well-represented. The same is true for other nations nearer to the poles, like Norway, historically the most successful country at the Winter Games, and Finland, the northern Lapland region of which is said by many to be the home of Santa Claus, or Father Christmas.
Other large countries, such as China and the United States, also have heavy contingencies of athletes on hand. These two countries in particular have greater populations and are geographically situated so that despite having warm, subtropical climates in their southern regions, the northern areas are much colder and conducive to snowfall and the formation of ice. The majority of winter sport participants from these countries hail from the snow-laden north.
The presence of these nations comes as no surprise.
However, also conspicuously in attendance are a multitude of countries that lie partially or completely between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, where snowfall is extremely rare and iced-over bodies of water are essentially nonexistent. Some of these nations even directly straddle the equator.
With a lack of natural resources allowing for winter sports during the majority or entirety of the year, how is it that so many of these countries have produced athletes competing at the Olympic level in the Winter Games? Let's examine some of these nations.
Brazil's Jaqueline Mourao competes in the women's 10km classic event during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on February 10 at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Center in Hebei Province.
Brazil's Nicole Rocha Silveira competes in the women's skeleton event at the Yanqing National Sliding Center on February 12.
Several are countries that only partially lie within the tropics. India, for example, is a country in which the majority of its territory experiences balmy weather throughout the year, but the far northern regions are higher in elevation and are perhaps more favorable for sports like skiing. Indeed, Mohammad Arif Khan is representing the country in Beijing and will be competing in the slalom and giant slalom events.
Brazil is also a country that the southern portion of which does lie south of the Tropic of Capricorn. However, given the fact that much of the country is covered by tropical rainforest, it's reasonable to expect that it would produce few Winter Olympians. However, Brazil has participated in each Winter Games since 1992, sending 10 athletes to Beijing this year, competing in skiing, bobsleigh and skeleton.
As these two countries are among the most heavily populated nations in the world, it stands to reason that there might be citizens there for whom winter sports is a bit of a niche interest. Some of the other participating countries, however, do raise an eyebrow.
Fully tropical countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Ghana and Ecuador (the name of which literally means "equator" in Spanish), as well as small tropical island nations and territories like Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago have sent Olympians to this year's Winter Games; quite an impressive and intriguing feat for nations that likely haven't seen a flake of snow in decades, if ever.
In 1972, the Philippines was represented at the Games in Japan by two alpine skiers, making it the first nation fully situated within the tropics to compete.
Jamaica's Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian takes part in women's monobob bobsleigh training at the Yanqing National Sliding Center during the Beijing 2022 on February 12.
Notably, the Jamaican bobsleigh team made a now-famous appearance at the 1988 Winter Games in Canada. That year's proceedings featured numerous small, warmer countries and territories including Costa Rica, Fiji, Guam, the Netherlands Antilles and others.
In addition to the previously mentioned participants, the fully tropical nations of Colombia, Peru, Eritrea, Malaysia and Nigeria are present in Beijing this year. The first two of those countries will be making their third Winter Games appearance, and the final three will be making their second after debuting in South Korea in 2018.
The one country making its inaugural appearance at the Winter Olympics this year is perhaps the most remarkable of all. The Caribbean nation of Haiti sent Richardson Viano, an alpine skier, to compete in this year's Games. The country has been hit hard in recent years by natural disasters including earthquakes and hurricanes as well as undergoing economic hardships. Viano was unable to complete his run in the men's giant slalom event but should be applauded for representing his country for the first time at the Winter Games.
To date, no team from a country geographically located entirely in the tropics has taken home a medal in Winter Olympic competition, but, as the saying goes, there's a first time for everything!
Kudos to the athletes from these countries for their determined spirit in overcoming natural geographical barriers and obstacles to pursue their Olympic dreams.
Haiti's Richardson Viano competes in the first run of the men's giant slalom during the Beijing 2022 at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Center on February 13.
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