Morrocan grabs first African medal at a winter Olympic event

Morocco has only one athlete participating at the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games and he is now a Gold medallist after winning the Alpine Skiing Men's Super G on Saturday. He also becomes the first African athlete in history to win a medal at a winter Olympic event. Adam Lamhamedi (MAR) grabbed the Gold with a time of 1:04.45 minutes, and afterwards insisted his win proves anything is possible.

"This represents that in life you can do everything, never give up," he said. "We came from Africa and we won in Alpine Skiing, so all is possible." Adam lives in Quebec and trains with the Canadian team, but has always dreamed of representing Morocco. "It's a personal choice," he said. "I wanted to prove Moroccans can ski well, and I proved it today."

Relatives and friends of the 16-year-old travelled from Morocco, France, and Canada to watch Adam compete from the snowy grandstand at the base of this challenging Super G course at Patscherkofel.

"We are all just honoured to represent Morocco here today and for the whole Olympics," said Adam’s coach Martin Cote (MAR) Adam is now considered a major contender for more medals at the Games. He is set to compete in all four Alpine Skiing events, continuing with the Men’s Super Combined today.