Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda (born 15 May 1996) is an Eritrean-Canadian alpine skier and Ski Cross 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.
Early life
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. He started skiing at the age three 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. 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 environment, it was not until he was ten years old that he thought about pursuing an Olympic Career when his coach TJ pushed him outside of his comfort zone. Subsequently, Abeda achieved high rankings in regional races and qualified for national events.
Career
In 2011, he decided 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 but missed the cut-off by four FIS points. 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, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and several other ligaments and partially fracturing his tibia. After two surgeries and a year of rehabilitation, he returned to competition in March 2017 and successfully met the qualification standards for the games. He planned to return to Alpine for the 2019/2020 season however decided to retire officially.
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 and formally retired from Alpine skiing. However, in 2021 it appeared that Abeda had returned to Alpine skiing after his FIS status indicated that he competed in two races. In September 2021, he confirmed his return to Alpine. On December 21, 2021, Abeda secured a quota for the 2022 Winter Olympics. After the games, Abeda officially announced his retirement from Alpine skiing on his social media however it appears that his FIS license is still active.