(Source: Black Information Network)
Jamaica, long known for producing world-class sprinters like Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Veronica Campbell-Brown, could soon make headlines at the Winter Olympics.
Henniyah, Helaina, and Henri Rivers, 18-year-old triplets, are hoping to represent Jamaica in alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy. If they qualify, they would become the first triplets to compete in the same Winter Games and potentially the first Jamaicans to medal in alpine skiing.
The siblings, who grew up in Long Island, New York, were introduced to the sport by their parents, both ski instructors. Their mother, Karen Rivers, a native of Jamaica, told TODAY that she had her children “in the snow before they could walk.”
“She was racing with them in her belly,” the siblings’ father, Henri Rivers III, quipped.
The triplets are aiming to follow in the footsteps of Benjamin Alexander, who made history as Jamaica’s first-ever alpine skier at the 2022 Beijing Games. The Rivers siblings hope to take the sport even further for their country and inspire more Caribbean athletes to compete in winter sports.
“Years down the line, there will be Nordic skiers for Jamaica,” Henniyah Rivers said. “I believe it.”
“It would mean a lot,” Henri Rivers said. “I use my sisters as motivation towards skiing, because without them I really wouldn’t be the skier who I am today.:
