IN a sport traditionally dominated by alpine nations, three Jamaican teenagers are aiming to carve their way into the record books — and history — as the first set of triplets to qualify for the Winter Olympics in skiing.

Helaina, Henri IV, and Henniyah Rivers, all born in August 2007, are currently deep in preparation to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, north-east Italy. The trio, who just graduated from high school in the United States, are being guided by their father and head coach, Henri Rivers, who also serves as head of the Jamaica Ski Team.

Speaking while on their most recent visit to Jamaica, Rivers explained that the siblings are fully committed to representing their mother’s homeland and are on a structured programme to meet the Olympic qualification standards.

“Helena needs to qualify in both slalom and giant slalom,” Rivers explained. “Henri IV is just one point shy of qualifying in slalom right now. Once he resumes competition this summer, I’m confident he’ll meet the standard. Henniyah has a bit further to go, but with the training we’ve set up, she’ll get there,” he said.

Despite attending ski academies in New Hampshire, the girls had kept their focus primarily on academics, graduating as honour roll students.

“They were on snow six days a week,” Rivers said, “but they wanted to finish high school strong, and I didn’t push them too hard while they were doing that. Now that they’ve graduated, we’re ramping things up.”

The family is currently in Jamaica for a brief stint of strength and conditioning work in Kingston, Montego Bay, and Negril, before heading to Argentina on July 15. There, they’ll spend 60 days in the southern hemisphere winter — 33 days of intense training followed by 27 days of races, all crucial to meeting the minimum point standards required by the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Qualification is determined by averaging the points of a skier’s five best results. With an extended competition window between now and September, Rivers is confident his children have both the physical and mental discipline to reach the Olympic level.

The path, however, is far from easy.

“You earn your points based on how close you finish to the leader in each race,” Rivers explained. “Henri IV’s current points don’t reflect how well he actually skis — he just hasn’t put it all together yet. But he will. They all will.”

If they do, it will be a deeply personal milestone for their father, who has been skiing since childhood and now sees in his children the realisation of a lifelong dream.

“I grew up watching the Olympics in 1968 and seeing Jean-Claude Killy win all three events — slalom, giant slalom, and downhill. I remember saying to myself, ‘I wish I could do that.’ I didn’t realise then the obstacles that people like me would face in trying to reach that level,” Rivers said.

Now, through his children, Rivers is hoping to do more than just qualify for the Olympics — he wants to change the narrative of who belongs in winter sport.

“We have an opportunity here to show on a global scale what’s possible when people are given an equitable chance to compete. The kids want to represent Jamaica, and they feel the pride and respect people here have for what they’re trying to achieve. That means a lot to them,” he said.

At just 17, the triplets are already looking beyond 2026.

“We’re aiming for at least three Olympic cycles,” Rivers said. “2026, 2030, and 2034 — which will be in the United States. By then they’ll be right in their athletic prime.”

The historic nature of the moment is not lost on Jamaica’s Olympic leadership. Ryan Foster, secretary general and CEO of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), which also oversees the Jamaica Ski Federation, expressed strong support for the siblings’ journey.

“The Jamaica Ski Federation and the Jamaica Olympic Association are working closely to ensure that the necessary resources are in place to support the qualification of the triplets for the Olympic Winter Games in 2026,” Foster said. “We want to ensure that we continue the rich history that Jamaica has garnered in the Summer Games, but also the historic feat of the bobsledders over the years. We are confident our legacy in the Olympic Games will be expanded — and in a triplet way.”

Foster added that the JOA has been “extremely supportive” of the initiative, and extended gratitude on behalf of the ski federation.

“The work continues in earnest as we seek to get additional funding for the qualifiers,” he said.