Beijing 2022: How US speedskater Maame Biney uses her alter ego on and off the ice | DW | 07.02.2022

American speedskater Maame Biney had a race to forget in the quarterfinals of the women’s 500 meters. But you wouldn’t know it based on the way she interacted with journalists at Beijing’s Capital Indoor Arena afterwards.

The 22-year-old short track specialist, who in Pyeongchang four years ago was the first Black woman on the US short track speedskating team, let out a slight giggle after every answer to reporters.

Her race was over right from the start. A skate-on-skate collision with Hungary’s Petra Jaszapati caused her blade to dull, taking away critical traction.

“I got it during the start, which was an end right there,” said Biney. “I did everything I could to try to secure my third spot because there was a third fastest, but I wasn’t building any speed. I was basically stepping on the ice.”

Six months ago, Biney admitted, she would have broken down after such a result. “I’ve been through lots of therapy to help me through situations like this, and I think I’m handling it a lot better than I would have.”

Part of that therapy for Biney, who has previously said she suffers from anxiety, is developing a mantra and a motto she would say to herself before races.

But she also draws confidence from “Anna Digger,” her confident, outspoken alter ego.

Who is Anna Digger?

While Biney is rather laid-back and “a little bit more go-with-the-flow,” her alter ego Anna Digger is focused, brave, strong and fearless, and allows Biney to overcome her anxious thoughts.

Biney, who moved from Ghana to Washington, D.C. with her father, Kweku, when she was 6, came up with Anna Digger for an email address at the age of 8. Kristen Santos, Biney’s teammate in the mixed and women’s relay, suggested she assume the personality when she skates.

So when Digger’s race is ruined by a dull skate, Biney is able to keep her spirits up afterwards.

Biney always has alter ego Anna Digger supporting her on the ice and picking her up if she falls

“I’m really happy to be here and skate here as well as I did,” she told DW. “I got a season’s best two days ago [in the 500-meter qualifying heats, a time of 42.929 seconds], so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Now she’s looking forward to the 1,000 meters on Thursday, where she may not need Anna Digger’s help.The 500 meters is the distance she’s best at, so she will enter the longer distance with less pressure.

“I don’t expect anything more that’s probably going to happen, honestly,” she said. “So I’m just going to do my best and hope for the best.”

Anna helps ‘speak out for what I believe in’

Anna Digger doesn’t just help Biney with her courage on the track; she also helps her speak up about racial injustice.

“Anna is definitely like ‘I’m going to speak out for what I believe in and do anything that I believe in,'” Biney told DW. “She helps me be more confident.”

Since the murder of Black man George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May 2020, Biney has used her social media platforms to raise awareness on racial injustice. Shortly after Floyd’s death, the speedskater shared a lengthy Instagram post calling on more people to use their voice. One of her Instagram collections is aptly named “ways to help.”

Biney is also fully aware of the impact she has every time she steps on the ice, and why it’s important to keep her head up whenever a race doesn’t go her way.

“I think that’s some sort of inspiration to myself and young Black girls around the world who feel like whatever the situation that is presented to them, they can overcome it and rise up again like a phoenix,” she said.

And whether it’s an unfortunate collision early on in a race, or more general sociopolitical challenges in normal life, Maame Biney always has Anna Digger alongside her, too.

Edited by: Matt Ford