Winston Tang

Winston Tang
Personal information
National teamGuinea-Bissau
Born (2006-07-07) 7 July 2006
Oregon, United States
Sport
SportAlpine skiing

Winston Tang (Chinese: 唐寧希; born 7 July 2006) is an American, Taiwanese, and Bissau-Guinean alpine skier. He is set to be the first person to represent Guinea-Bissau at the Winter Olympics, doing so at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the men's slalom.

Early life and education

Winston Tang was born on 7 July 2006 in Oregon, United States,[1] to Thomas Tang and Penny Tang as the youngest of three siblings, succeeding Emma and Calcy Tang.[2] Both Thomas and Calcy have represented Chinese Taipei in alpine skiing, with the former at competitions such as the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics[3] while the latter competing at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2021.[4] Growing up in Park City, Utah,[5][6] Winston learned how to ski at the age of two and began competing at the age of eight. He studied at the Winter Sports School located in Park City, Utah.[5]

Career

Tang's father, a businessman, began to look for investment opportunities in 2022 in Guinea-Bissau regarding their cashew industry.[5] Through this, he had meetings with several government and non-government authorities, with his participation at the Winter Olympics being mentioned during one of the dialogues. An interlocutor noticed this and recommended the creation of the Winter Sports Federation of Guinea-Bissau in order for the nation to qualify for the Winter Olympics.[7][5] Around this time, Winston Tang started to compete for Chinese Taipei in international competition.[8] The federation was founded in February 2024 and was made an associate member of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) in June 2024.[7]

Tang would change his sporting nationality to American and began to compete under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard.[8] Around this time, the federation needed to find an athlete to represent them at the 2026 Winter Olympics as they did not have any registered athletes. In 2025 however, the Bissau-Guinean government's ministers voted on whether to grant Tang Bissau-Guinean nationality through his father's connection to the nation[a] in attempts for Tang to represent the nation at the Games. This was granted and Tang later changed his sporting nationality to Bissau-Guinean in June 2025 upon approval by the FIS.[5][10] His first competition representing the nation was at an FIS Entry League men's slalom race held at Ski Dubai.[11][12]

He was awarded an Olympic Scholarship by the International Olympic Committee to assist with his preparations for the Winter Games.[1] Through the basic quota, Guinea-Bissau was eligible to send one male alpine skier to the Games.[13] Winston was then selected as the first Bissau-Guinean to compete at the Winter Olympics and trained in Bosnia and Herzegovina before ultimately going to Milan.[5] During the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Tang was the flag bearer for the nation.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ Individuals can be granted Bissau-Guinean nationality if they have an affiliation to the country.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Winston TANG". Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Taking it to the startup slopes". University of Utah. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  3. ^ "Tang Wei-Tsu Biographical Information". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Men's Giant Slalom Official Results" (PDF). International Ski and Snowboard Federation. 19 February 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Barata, Pedro (3 February 2026). "Winston Tang, o guineense do Utah que vai aos Jogos Olímpicos à boleia do caju" [Winston Tang, the Guinean from Utah who's going to the Olympic Games thanks to cashew nuts.]. Tribuna Expresso (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 February 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  6. ^ Weaver, Sydney (19 January 2026). "Park City Nation to represent Utah at 2026 Olympics". KPCW. Archived from the original on 31 January 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  7. ^ a b "The year when snow sports came to life in Guinea-Bissau". International Ski and Snowboard Federation. 4 November 2024. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  8. ^ a b Blijboom, Luuk (2 February 2026). "Van Benin tot Pakistan: maak kennis met de olympische buitenbeentjes in Milaan" [From Benin to Pakistan: Meet Milan's Olympic outsiders]. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 February 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  9. ^ Manby 2016, pp. 7–9.
  10. ^ "FIS Council Meeting, 12th & 13th June 2025 Summary Minutes" (PDF). International Ski and Snowboard Federation. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 October 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Winston Tang". International Ski and Snowboard Federation. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Ski Dubai Entry FIS - Men's Slalom". International Ski and Snowboard Federation. 4 November 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  13. ^ "Alpine Skiing quotas list for Olympic Winter Games 2026". International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). Archived from the original on 17 April 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  14. ^ "Winston Tang Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 February 2026.

Bibliography

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