Severaltropical nations have participated in theWinter Olympics despite not having theclimate forwinter sports. Partly because of that, their entries are a subject ofhuman interest stories during the Games.[1][2][3] No tropical nation has ever won a Winter Olympic medal.
The first warm-weather, but not fully tropical, nation participating in the Winter Olympics wasMexico. Much of Mexico is at a latitude north of theTropic of Cancer, and most of the country has asubtropical highland orsemi-arid climate, so it is not exclusively a tropical nation. Nonetheless, Mexico made its Winter Olympic debut at the1928 Winter Olympics[4] with a five-manbobsleigh team that finished eleventh of twenty-three entrants.[5] Mexico did not return again to the Winter Games until the1984 Winter Olympics.[6]
The first truly tropical nation to compete in the Winter Olympic Games was thePhilippines, who sent twoalpine skiers to the1972 Winter Olympics inSapporo,Japan.[7]Ben Nanasca placed 42nd ingiant slalom skiing (out of 73 entrants), andJuan Cipriano did not finish. Inslalom skiing, neither skier was able to finish.Costa Rica became the second tropical nation to participate at the Winter Games, in the1980 Winter Olympics atLake Placid, New York,[8] whereArturo Kinch also competed in alpine skiing events. Kinch would continue to compete for Costa Rica at three more Winter Games, including the2006 Winter Olympics at age 49. There he finished 96th in the 15 kmcross-country skiing event, ahead of onlyPrawat Nagvajara ofThailand, another tropical nation.[3][9]
The1988 Winter Olympics inCalgary,Alberta,Canada attracted many tropical nations, includingCosta Rica,Fiji,Guam,Guatemala,Jamaica,Netherlands Antilles, thePhilippines,Puerto Rico, and theUnited States Virgin Islands.[10] TheJamaica bobsleigh team became a fan favorite at these Games[11] and were later the inspiration of the 1993 motion pictureCool Runnings. In the1994 Winter Olympics six years later, the Jamaican four-man sled placed acreditable fourteenth, ahead of the United States and Russia, while Jamaican-born bobsledderLascelles Brown won silver for Canada in 2006.
The2006 Winter Olympics inTurin,Italy marked the Winter Games debut ofEthiopia[2] andMadagascar.[12] The2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver,British Columbia,Canada saw the debut of theCayman Islands,Colombia,Peru,[13] andGhana.[14] The2014 Winter Olympics saw the debut ofDominica,Paraguay,Timor-Leste,Togo,Tonga, andZimbabwe. The2018 Winter Olympics saw the debut ofEcuador,Eritrea,Malaysia,Nigeria, andSingapore. The2022 Winter Olympics saw the debut ofHaiti.
This list of nations includes those that lie entirely or predominantly[clarification needed] within thetropical latitudes and also have a mostlytropical climate according to theKöppen climate classification system. Years of Winter Olympic Games participation are shown.
| Africa | |
 Cameroon | 2002 |
 Eritrea | 2018–2022 |
 Ethiopia | 2006–2010 |
 Ghana | 2010, 2018–2022 |
 Kenya | 1998–2006, 2018 |
 Madagascar | 2006, 2018–2022 |
 Nigeria | 2018–2022 |
 Senegal | 1984, 1992–1994, 2006–2010 |
 Togo | 2014–2018 |
 Zimbabwe | 2014 |
| Americas | |
 Bolivia | 1956, 1980–1992, 2018–2022 |
 British Virgin Islands | 1984, 2014 |
 Brazil | 1992–2022 |
 Cayman Islands | 2010–2014 |
 Colombia | 2010, 2018–2022 |
 Costa Rica | 1980–1992, 2006 |
 Dominica | 2014 |
 Ecuador | 2018–2022 |
 Guatemala | 1988 |
 Haiti | 2022 |
 Honduras | 1992 |
 Jamaica | 1988–2002, 2010–2022 |
 Netherlands Antilles | 1988–1992 |
 Paraguay | 2014 |
 Peru | 2010–2014, 2022 |
 Puerto Rico | 1984–2002, 2018–2022 |
 Trinidad and Tobago | 1994–2002, 2022 |
 Venezuela | 1998–2006, 2014 |
 Virgin Islands | 1988–2006, 2014, 2022 |
| Asia-Pacific | |
 American Samoa | 1994, 2022 |
 Fiji | 1988, 1994, 2002 |
 Guam | 1988 |
 Hong Kong | 2002–2022 |
 Malaysia | 2018–2022 |
 Philippines | 1972, 1988–1992, 2014–2022 |
 Singapore | 2018 |
 Thailand | 2002–2006, 2014–2022 |
 Timor-Leste | 2014–2022 |
 Tonga | 2014–2018 |
Other warm-weather nations (located in thesubtropics, for example) that have competed in the Winter Games includeAustralia (which has a tropical far north, and became the first Southern Hemisphere nation to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympicsin 2002),Bermuda,Chinese Taipei,Eswatini,Hong Kong,India,Mexico,South Africa,Uruguay and severalNorth African nations includingAlgeria,Egypt andMorocco.
Tonga sought to make its Winter Olympic debut at the2010 Winter Olympics by enteringa single competitor in luge, attracting some media attention, but he crashed in the final round of qualifying.[15] Two years later, he attracted media attention again when it was discovered he had altered his name to that of one of his sponsors, a lingerie firm, as a marketing stunt. He was, at that time, in training to attempt to qualify for the2014 Winter Olympics.[16][17]
As of 2022, only three tropical nations have been represented at theWinter Paralympic Games.[18]Tofiri Kibuuka ofUganda competed incross-country skiing at theinaugural edition of the Winter Paralympics in 1976 and again at the1980 Games.[19] After Kibuuka obtained Norwegian nationality, he began to compete forNorway at the Paralympics starting in 1984, winning several medals inathletics at the Summer Paralympics. Brazil sent two athletes as part ofits debut at the2014 Winter Paralympics. Puerto Rico sent one athlete as part ofits debut at the2022 Winter Paralympics.
| Africa | |
 Uganda | 1976–1980 |
| Americas | |
| Brazil | 2014–2022 |
| Puerto Rico | 2022 |
Five tropical nations were represented at theFirst Winter Youth Olympics inInnsbruck,Austria.
In the 2020 edition,Diego Amaya from Colombia won the silver medal in theboys' mass start speed skating. This was the first time in history that an athlete from a tropical nation and aLatin American won a medal at an Olympic winter event.[20] Four years later,Zion Bethônico from Brazil won the bronze medal in themen's snowboard cross event.[21]
| Africa | |
| Eritrea | 2012 |
| Kenya | 2016–2024 |
| Nigeria | 2024 |
| Americas | |
| Brazil | 2012–2024 |
| Cayman Islands | 2012 |
| Colombia | 2016–2024 |
| Ecuador | 2020 |
| Haiti | 2020 |
| Jamaica | 2016–2024 |
| Peru | 2012 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2020 |
| Asia | |
| Hong Kong | 2020–2024 |
| Malaysia | 2016–2020 |
| Philippines | 2012, 2020–2024 |
| Singapore | 2020–2024 |
| Thailand | 2020–2024 |
| Timor-Leste | 2016 |
