Shannon-Ogbani Abeda

Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda is an Eritrean-Canadian alpine skier athlete. Abeda competed for Eritrea at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the alpine skiing events. Abeda became the first athlete to compete for Eritrea at the Winter Olympics. He finished 61st in the giant slalom event in 2018, did not finish the first run of the slalom event and finished 39th at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Abeda's parents fled the Eritrean War of Independence in the 1980s and emigrated to Canada. Abeda also represented the country at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics in 2012 in Innsbruck, Austria. Abeda originally announced his intentions to take the 2018/2019 season off and attend university after the 2018 Winter Olympic Games however announced his retirement and change to bobsleigh. He hinted that he would return for the 2022 Winter Olympics games, but also at the possibility of retirement. In 2021, his FIS status indicated that he competed in two races in April 2021 confirming his return to Alpine and in September 2021, he officially came out of retirement and announced his intentions to qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. On December 21, 2021, Abeda qualified for the 2022 Winter Olympics; shortly after his event, he announced his retirement from Alpine skiing. However, as of 2023, his FIS license is active, and he has stated on his social media that he would return for the 2026 Winter Olympics.