Antwan “Tony” Saad developed a passion for skiing but has a very peculiar dilemma: his home country of Egypt only receives snow on the rarest of occasions (sometimes years apart). This presents a challenge for someone looking to hone their craft in Alpine Skiing.
Without any natural snow-covered mountains or slopes for Tony to train on, he had to identify an alternative. And he found it in Ski Egypt, Africa’s first Indoor Ski Resort and Snow Park, that provides visitors with real snow, slopes, and even resident penguins at the facility.
Leading up to the World Winter Games 2025 in Turin, Italy, Tony worked at his craft, training at Ski Egypt as he prepared for competition in Alpine Skiing. The discipline and mental fortitude he achieved through Special Olympics Egypt has aided him in overcoming challenges and finding solutions to problems.
This has extended beyond the slopes, as Tony’s connection with Special Olympics Egypt has not only fostered growth in sport, but he believes it has affected other facets of his life.
“Sports have taught me how to set and achieve goals, which I apply when working towards success in school and work.” – Antwan Saad
This ability to set goals, improve, and solve problems (including finding a snowy place to train), have given Tony fulfillment, and the perfect mindset for success on the world stage.
There were some nerves as Tony put on his skis and prepared to take the hill in Turin, Italy. He had practiced on real snow many times before, but it was in a controlled indoor facility. Now he faced a literal mountain in an outdoor environment. But Tony leaned into his training, knowing this was just another problem and he had the skills to solve it.
After finding his footing in the divisioning rounds, Tony’s preparations paid off as he won a bronze medal in the Novice Super G (M02) with a speedy time of 33.95 seconds! It was with extreme pride that Tony celebrated with his teammates and coaches.
