NAIROBI, Kenya, February 6, 2026 – Kenya’s alpine skier Sabrina Wanjiku Simader has withdrawn from the ongoing Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
The 27-year-old said she decided to pull out because things did not work out as she had hoped for.
“Unfortunately, I’m not participating as it was quite a roller coaster the last weeks and months for me, up and down, forward and backward. Yeah, I tried to do a second comeback after retiring in summer, but unfortunately things didn’t work out as planned with my NOC,” Wanjiku said.
The 2017 African European Sports Woman of the Year further said she had been preparing for the global competition and had even set aside a budget but for some unforeseen delays.
“There were some big delays … I even started to train a bit, not like usual. 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,” Wanjiku said.
It marks the latest setback for the Kenyan ‘Snow Leopard’ who had in July last year, announced her retirement from the sport due to financial hardships experienced in the course of her career.
Wanjiku said she had accumulated close to Ksh 12 million in preparation for international competitions.
Nonetheless, the Kilifi-born athlete remains optimistic that the future is bright.
She believes there is a lot she still has to give to the sport.
“Anyway, when a door closes, another one will open. I’m [still] looking forward to inspiring the next generation. I’m [currently] working on quite a big project going on, ski camp of colours for the next generation of champions,” Wanjiku said.
Her withdrawal leaves Issa Laborde as the country’s sole representative at the games.
