This 19-Year-Old Athlete Is the First Alpine Skier to Represent Kenya at the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics are just around the corner and it looks like we have yet another history-making African athlete to add to our list of people we're rooting for during this year's games.

Sabrina Simader will be the first ever female alpine skier to represent Kenya at the Winter Olympics In Pyeongchang this year. She joins the distinguished group of African first-timers including Nigerian skeleton racer Simidele Adeagbo, Ghanaian skeleton racer Akwasi Frimpong, as well as the popular Nigerian Women's bobsled team.

Simader was on the path to Olympic success from an early age.The 19-year-old Kenyan-born, Austrian-raised athlete has been skiing since the age of three when her stepfather first took her out on the slopes.

She told the BBC about some of the challenges she faced growing up as a black skier in a predominantly white community. "At the beginning it was hard, they were always watching me," said the athlete.

"They were really shocked that a black girl can ski like this."

The athlete is proud to represent her country at the Winter Olympics—becoming the second Kenyan ever to do so, after Philip Boit in 2002—and we couldn't be happier to cheer her on.

Tune in on February 9 to catch all the Winter Olympic action.