Kenyan Skier Sabrina Simader Withdraws from Milano Winter Olympics Over Lack of Support

Kenyan alpine skier Sabrina Simader has called off her planned return to the sport for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, citing insurmountable challenges that derailed her comeback attempt.

Sabrina Simader, who had previously retired in July, was preparing for what would have been her second Olympic appearance after competing at PyeongChang 2018.

However, the Kenyan sensation has been forced to withdraw from the qualification process, highlighting some challenges with the National Olympic Committee of Kenya.

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"Unfortunately, I'm not participating as it was quite a roller coaster the last weeks and months for me, up and down, forward and backwards," the dejected skier told Olympics.com.

"I tried to do a second comeback after retiring in the summer, but unfortunately, things didn't work out as planned with my NOC."

The 27-year-old explained that significant delays and a lack of support thwarted her plans for a final run on the Olympic stage. She had even begun training and invested her own funds to make the dream a reality.

"There were some big delays… I even started to train a bit, not like usual," she said. "I also pre-invested some budget on my own to make it because it would be cool to make the final race at the Olympic Games, but it didn’t work out."

A trailblazer for winter sports in Africa, Sabrina Simader had successfully qualified for her second Games alongside fellow Kenyan alpine skier Issa Laborde before this setback occurred.

Despite the disappointment, Sabrina Simader is shifting her focus to nurturing future talent in the sport.

"Anyway, when a door closes, another one will open," she reflected. "I'm still looking forward to inspiring the next generation. I'm currently working on quite a big project going on, a ski camp of colours for the next generation of champions."