Without any natural snow-covered mountains or slopes in Egypt for Antwan “Tony” Saad to train on, he found Ski Egypt, Africa’s first Indoor Ski Resort and Snow Park.

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!