Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda

Abeda was born in Fort McMurray, Alberta to Eritrean immigrants, Walday Abeda and Ariam Abeda. His parents settled in Fort McMurray after his father received an entry level engineering job. His father is a geological engineer who works in the Oil and Gas industry.[8] He started skiing at the age 3 after his sister took a day trip to the local ski hill and convinced his parents to enroll his siblings into the team. Abeda and his brother wanted to try hockey, but his parents were reluctant and afraid of injuries that might occur.[9] Abeda's family moved to Calgary in 2003 and he started to develop a passion for Alpine Skiing when he started training in the Rocky Mountains at Banff Sunshine. While Abeda enjoyed the different environnment, it wasn't until he was 10 years old that he thought about pursuing an Olympic Career when his coach TJ pushed him outside of his comfort zone. Subsequently, Abeda went on to achieve high rankings in regional races and qualify for national events.[10]

In 2011, he made the decision to compete for Eritrea in the hopes of competing in the 2012 Youth Olympic games in Innsbruck, Austria. Having two parents of Eritrean descent, Abeda was granted Eritrean citizenship and a passport. He made his first international appearances in 2012 and competed in many regional races in the US and Canada. In 2014, he attempted to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics however he missed the cut-off by four FIS points.[11] He subsequently tried again and qualified for 2018 Winter Olympics. Abeda did not compete in an international event until 2018 when he returned to compete in South Korea. After the Olympics, Abeda took a year off to focus on his education and to elect a surgery to fix his jaw. Leading up to the Olympics in December 2017, Abeda partially fractured his jaw and lost two teeth in a training accident. He also sustained a significant injury while training in February 2016 where he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, several other ligaments and partially fractured his tibia. After two surgeries and year of rehabilitation, he returned to competition in March 2017 and successfully met the qualification standards for the games.[12] He planned to return to Alpine for the 2019/2020 season however decided to retire officially.[13]

In July 2019, Abeda posted a video on his LinkedIn account showing him training in WinSport's ice house. He hinted at the possibility of switching to Bobsleigh for 2022. Later that month, he confirmed the switch. [14]

Training clip from LinkedIn

Abeda is an avid weightlifter and coder. He dedicates most of his off-snow time to his training which includes an extensive amount of olympic weightlifting, boxing, running and programming. Abeda is a strong advocate for Bulgarian style training and heavy lifting. He credits Cory Gregory's SquatEveryDay program as the catalyst behind his training regiment and a vital tool that helped him rehabilitate his knee.[15] He is undertaking his studies at the University of Lethbridge double majoring in Computer Science and Business Administration.[16]

After his failure to qualify for Sochi, Abeda was invited to a TedX conference where he discussed his struggles and his methodology to overcome his obstacles. He gave a further explanation as to why he failed to qualify and the toll that it had on his physical, mental and emotional well-being. Abeda also discussed about the negative impact of attending the 2012 Youth Olympic games and how it damaged his moral and reputation.[17]

His brother, Metawee accompanied him to the games and walked into the opening stadium during the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Abeda's family also joined and stayed in the village with him to provide support. His father, Walday was the chef de mission.

In May 2019, he returned to Eritrea for the Independence Day (Eritrea) to announce his candidancy to compete in 2022 and with the goal of bringing another athlete along with him. He is working with the Eritrean National Olympic Committee to recruit athletes in the diaspora and build a future Winter Olympic team.[18]

He resides and trains in Calgary for four months of year and the remaining time he lives in Lethbridge where he attends university.[19]

He attended and graduated from William Aberhart High School where he received his French diploma.

• Eritrea at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics
• Eritrea at the 2018 Winter Olympics

• Olympic.org athlete profile