--- title: Maame Biney Skates to 2018 Winter Olympics: 5 Things to Know description: Team USA speedskater Maame Biney is headed to PyeongChang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Here's what to know about her canonical: https://time.com/5130001/maame-biney-olympics-facts/ author: Sean Gregory article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-02T18:15:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:07:06.475Z article:section: Sports og:title: Meet Maame Biney, Team USA's First African-American Female Speedskater og:description: The 18-year-old is headed to the Winter Olympics this month og:url: https://time.com/5130001/maame-biney-olympics-facts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61a6ef8727dac4ab/6988fa57ab6d773b9b6b1950/maame-biney.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Maame-Biney og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meet Maame Biney, Team USA's First African-American Female Speedskater twitter:description: The 18-year-old is headed to the Winter Olympics this month twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61a6ef8727dac4ab/6988fa57ab6d773b9b6b1950/maame-biney.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meet Maame Biney, the First African-American Female Speedskater to Qualify for the Olympics > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent Feb 2, 2018 6:15 PM UTC  Maame Biney takes the corner on her way to victory in the Women's 500 Meter A Final for a spot on the Olympic team during the 2018 U.S. Speedskating Short Track Olympic Team Trials at the Utah Olympic Oval on December 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Maame Biney takes the corner on her way to victory in the Women's 500 Meter A Final for a spot on the Olympic team during the 2018 U.S. Speedskating Short Track Olympic Team Trials at the Utah Olympic Oval on December 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah.Harry How—Getty Images  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent Feb 2, 2018 6:15 PM UTC At 18, American short-track speedskater Maame Biney is one of the youngest members of Team USA headed to the [PyeongChang Winter Olympics](http://time.com/5123348/winter-olympics-2018-schedule/), which begin next week with the [opening ceremony Feb. 9](http://time.com/5124851/winter-olympics-opening-ceremony-2018-time/). She’s also breaking new ground — and ice. Here are five things to know about Maame Biney, America’s new Winter Olympics speedskating sensation. ## **Maame Biney is making history** When Biney swept the 500m short track races at the Winter Olympic trials in December, she became the first African-American woman to qualify for a U.S. speedskating Olympic team. ([Erin Jackson,](https://www.rollingstone.com/sports/features/speed-skater-erin-jackson-is-making-winter-olympics-history-w516169) in long-track speedskating, became the second a few weeks later). At her trials races in Kearns, Utah, Biney’s father Kweku held up a sign that read “Kick some hiney Biney.” She warmed hearts with her [giggly reaction ](http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/maame-biney-qualifying-us-olympic-short-track-team)to making the Olympic team. “It’s crazy awesome,”[ she said on Twitter](https://twitter.com/BineyMaame/status/942821864371642368). ## **Maame Biney** **was born in Ghana** Kweku has [joked](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/01/23/feature/u-s-olympian-maame-bineys-short-track-speedskating-journey-from-ghana-to-pyeongchang/?utm%5Fterm=.4ae5a9a7fe55) that in Ghana, where his daughter was born, ice is used solely to keep beer cold. When Maame was five, she came to Maryland to visit her father, who was settled in the United States. She cried when she arrived, and the tears didn’t stop until Kweku brought her to a J.C. Penney on a trip to the mall. “As soon as we got in that store, she saw the big store, she started running around, from aisle to aisle,” Kweku told the [Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/01/23/feature/u-s-olympian-maame-bineys-short-track-speedskating-journey-from-ghana-to-pyeongchang/?utm%5Fterm=.39f2e48603ec). “She says, ‘Daddy, I like this one. No, no, no — I don’t like that one, I like this one!’” Biney decided she wanted to stay in the U.S; her mother and brother still live in Ghana. **Read:** [The _Complete Winter Olympics Schedule for 2018 – When To Watch Every Sport_](http://time.com/5123348/winter-olympics-2018-schedule/) ## **Maame** **Biney was too fast for figure skating** Soon after Maame arrived in the U.S., Kweku spotted a sign while driving down a street in Reston, Va. “Learn to Skate This Fall,” the [sign read](http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/ghana-born-maame-biney-could-be-next-us-short-track-star). Kweku asked his daughter if she was interested in skating; Maame jumped at the chance. She started out in a figure skating class. But the coach suggested Maame take speedskating, since she was moving so fast. Kewku owes that coach a chilled Ghanaian beer. ## **Maame Biney** is still in high school Biney is a senior; her dad recommended taking a year off, but Biney wanted to graduate with her friends, so she’s doing her coursework online. After making the speedskating team, she wrote a note to her classmates on [Instagram.](https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc1H%5FsBhXIh/?hl=en&taken-by=biney.biney) “This last one is to my friends (from school) who got that I couldn’t do anything b/c I had a goal,” Biney wrote. “I’m so happy that you guys didn’t abandon me😂. I love how you guys tried to understand. It really means a lot to me💚” Biney plans on going to college, and is interested in chemical engineering. ## **South Korea will offer stiff competition for Maame Biney** The [Winter Olympics host country](http://time.com/5070315/winter-olympics-2018-location/) is a short-track speedskating powerhouse; all but five of South Korea’s 26 winter gold medals have come in short track. Choi Min-jeong is a favorite in the 500m, plus the 1,000m and the 1,500m. South Korea could also win the 3,000-meter relay. Biney likely won’t cruise to gold. But don’t put an upset past her; she could be laughing her way to the podium. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5130001/maame-biney-olympics-facts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5130001/maame-biney-olympics-facts/"},"headline":"Meet Maame Biney, the First African-American Female Speedskater to Qualify for the Olympics","datePublished":"2018-02-02T18:15:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:07:06.475Z","description":"The 18-year-old is headed to the Winter Olympics this month","url":"https://time.com/5130001/maame-biney-olympics-facts/","keywords":["2018 Pyeongchang Olympics","Winter Olympics","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61a6ef8727dac4ab/6988fa57ab6d773b9b6b1950/maame-biney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61a6ef8727dac4ab/6988fa57ab6d773b9b6b1950/maame-biney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Maame-Biney","caption":"Team USA speedskater Maame Biney","creditText":"Harry How—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2018-pyeongchang-olympics/","name":"2018 Pyeongchang Olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5130001/maame-biney-olympics-facts/","name":"Meet Maame Biney, the First African-American Female Speedskater to Qualify for the Olympics"}}]}] ```