The president of the Togolese Ski Federation told reporters at a Sochi press conference that the country’s sporting body reached out to potential Winter Olympic athletes on Facebook.
The country found cross-country skier Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean, 19, and alpine skier Alessia Dipol, 18, via the social network Facebook.
Alessia Dipol is a naturalized Togo citizen, although she has no family ties to Togo. She is an Italian alpine skier who formerly skied for India but changed teams after becoming a Togolese citizen.
Source: Charlotte Observer.
Togo Olympian Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean was born to a Togolese mother and French father. She lived in the mountain town of Kpalime, 75 miles north of Togo’s capital. She left Togo as a child, however, and lives in the French Alps where she is close to completing high school, according to BusinessWeek.
Although Togo had never sent an athlete to the Winter Games before Sochi, the West African nation has competed in more than one Summer Game.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Togo won its first (and only, to date) Olympic medal when Benjamin Boukpeti took home a bronze in the men’s slalom kayak singles.
Togo is perhaps best known as the home country of English premier league Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
Petitjean is scheduled to compete in the 10-kilometer classical cross-country ski competition at the Laura Biathlon and Ski Complex Feb. 13. On her official Sochi 2014 athlete page she said, “If I was told I would one day compete at the Olympic Games, I would never have believed it would be in the colors of Togo.” Connect with Petitjean on Facebook here.
Dipol competes in the women’s giant slalom Feb. 18 and slalom Feb. 21. Her official Sochi 2014 Olympic page links to her Facebook account here.
Togo is not the only African nation competing in the Sochi games. Zimbabwe and Morocco are also represented.
