Olympic Briefs -- One Year until Paralympics; Ghana Skier Qualifies for 2010

One Year until Canada's First Winter Paralympics

One year from now, over 1,300 athletes and officials from over 40 countries will gather in Vancouver for Canada's first Winter Paralympic Games.

For 10 days, athletes will compete in five sports: alpine and cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey, wheelchair curling and biathlon.

Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee, joined VANOC chief John Furlong for celebrations in Vancouver, the provincial legislature in British Columbia and in Whistler.

"It is wonderful to be back in Canada, a country that has excelled at past Paralympic Games and embraced its Paralympians as national heroes," Craven stated.

Commenting on preparations for the Paralympics, Furlong remarked, "We've worked hard to make sure these athletes have a Games to remember, where they can be embraced by the small-town spirit of Whistler and gain worldwide exposure at big-city facilities in Vancouver. Best of all, all the venues will be completely accessible for the athletes and spectators and leave a legacy of inclusivity behind long after the Games are over."

Tickets for the Paralympics go on sale May 6.

British Gas Invests $20 Million in British Swimming

British Swimming announced today that they have inked a sponsorship deal worth $20 million that will last until 2015. It will support athletes at all levels and includes other water sports such as water polo and diving.

"We’re very proud to be partnering with British Swimming and working together to get more people in Britain reaching their potential in the pool," commented Rick Vlemmiks, marketing director at British Gas. "From paddling pool to the podium, we are committed to getting people from all walks of life and all standards involved in, and enjoying, swimming."

This sponsorship comes at an opportune time for U.K. water sports whose funding was cut following the Beijing Games. As reported by Around the Rings in January, water polo had 50 percent of its funding slashed.

The six-year sponsorship includes the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The British Gas announcement comes days after British Swimming announced they would be continuing their relationship with Speedo. The swimwear manufacturer provides swimwear, apparel and equipment to athletes at all levels and encompasses all aquatic disciplines.

Ghana Skier Qualifies for Winter Olympics

Skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong of Ghana has qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, becoming the first athlete from the west African nation to earn a spot in the Winter Games. (Getty Images)

When most people think of skiing countries, Ghana usually doesn’t come to mind.

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong hopes to change that perception.

The 34-year-old Nkrumah-Acheampong, who learned skiing on an artificial slope while living in Great Britain, will represent Ghana at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver after qualifying for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Nkrumah-Acheampong, known as the "Snow Leopard," became the first athlete from the west African nation to qualify for the Winter Games after achieving a score of 140 points during the World Cup season. Between 120 and 140 points are required for Olympic qualification.

It has only been four years since Nkrumah-Acheampong first began skiing. He took up the sport after getting a job as a receptionist at an indoor skiing facility in Great Britain while pursuing his studies. He has trained on an artificial slope under the tutelage of Scottish coach Dave Jacobs since taking up the sport.

Nkrumah-Acheampong was born in Glasgow, Scotland, where his father was a PhD student. He grew up in snowless Ghana and only saw snow for the first time five years ago.

While he is the first professional skier from Ghana, Nkrumah-Acheampong hopes he won’t be the last after launching a campaign to popularize the sport among the young people of his country.

"Many of them have very poor lives in Ghana, but we have the potential to bring on some of these kids and give them the chance," Nkrumah-Acheampong said. "That would be my dream before I finish my career."

X-ray Analysis Confirms A Fifth of Chinese Athletes Lied About Age Many of China's gold medalists were accused of being too young for their age category during the Beijing Olympics but were cleared by the sport's world governing body. (Getty Images)

X-ray bone analysis confirmed that thousands of Chinese youth athletes lied about their ages, Guangdong Province sports officials said.

The analysis included 15,000 youth athletes and showed that 3,000 misrepresented their age. Two thousand athletes were no longer eligible to compete in any youth sport, and 1,000 should have competed in different age categories.

"We won't allow those who faked their age to get any benefit at all," said Ye Xigquan, deputy director of the Guangdong Province sports bureau. "We want to make sure fakers have no advantage."

Guangdon's city, Guangzhou, will host the 2010 Asian games.

Vonn First U.S. World Cup Super G Winner

Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. continues to establish herself as a skier to watch at next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver after winning the super G at the World Cup finals in Are, Sweden on Thursday. Vonn is the first American woman to win the season championship in that event.

Vonn added the World Cup super G championship to her overall and downhill season titles, winning both for the second consecutive year on Wednesday.

"I was hoping so much that I could win today and get the super G globe, no American female has ever done that," Vonn said. "I'm so, so happy. What a week it’s been so far."

It was the fourth straight super G win on the World Cup circuit this season for Vonn and the 22nd World Cup victory of her career.

She now holds the U.S. record for the most World Cup wins in one season for males or females.

Briefs...

... Cadbury agreed to a $767 million sale of its Schweppes Beverages in Australia to Asahi Breweries in Japan. Cadbury announced in December that it would sell the Australian drinks business. The agreement was finalized Thursday after Coca-Cola did not pursue its right of negotiation for the sale of Schweppes Beverages. The sale allows Cadbury to focus on the confectionery market.

...SEGA Corporation announced plans yesterday to create Vancouver 2010 – the official video game of the Olympic Winter Games. The game will include a new challenge mode, restored online game play and new control schemes. The game will be available for PC and game consoles Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and is set to be released in the winter of 2010.

Written by Isia Reaves, Greg Oshust and Trista McGlamery.