Remember the Rivers triplets? Helaina, Henniyah, and Henry Rivers IV from Long Island, N.Y., made history as the first African-American triplets in the nation to earn the prestigious Eagle Scout rank, the highest honor in Scouting. And now, they’re setting their sights on an even bigger stage. Training to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as alpine skiers, not for the U.S., but for Jamaica.

After making history as Eagle Scouts, the 17-year-old triplets have set their sights on an even bigger prize—a Winter Olympics medal. Currently training in Argentina as alpine skiers, they’ve chosen to represent not the U.S., but Jamaica. The reason? Out of pure love for their late mother, whose Jamaican roots they proudly honor on the world stage.

While having a conversation with ‘The People,’ Helaina stated, “My mom came to the U.S. when she was young, so she obviously did not grow up skiing, but she learned how to ski when she met my dad.” Their mother, Karen, and father, Henri, are both certified ski instructors and alpine race coaches.

According to their father, they had been planning for this even before the triplets were born. “We’ve been working on the plan for almost 20 years. It started before they were born. It could have all been derailed if they didn’t like snow, if they didn’t wanna ski, because I wasn’t gonna force them.” 

While they are trying their best to get a spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, two of them have already represented Jamaica’s flag at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in South Korea. Talking to the media, Helaina further added, “We grew up skiing, and we’ve been skiing ever since.” 

Karen and Henri introduced the triplets to snow sports at the age of 1, and the triplets started racing when they were 5 years old. Having their love for their nation, the triplets are going to represent Jamaica out of love for their mother.

How do the triplets come to love the Alpine race?

Born in August 2007, the triplets spent their first seven years in Brooklyn. They were introduced to snowtubing, sledding, snowboarding, and skiing through their parents’ passion for winter sports. Their father was afraid that they wouldn’t like snow that much; however, the opposite was true. What began as playful adventures soon turned into a love affair with alpine racing.

In her conversation, Helaina recalled, “We started out in the children’s learning center, learning how to ski, getting the skis underneath us, and getting down the bunny slope. And then we progressed up to the Windham Race Factory and were on that team for a while. We started racing when we were 5.”

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She further added, “We just kept moving up and up and up as we grew older, and we’ve made lifelong friends with a part of that team as well,” she continues. “And that’s really what kick-started our racing career.”

What started as a fun activity is now a career goal for the triplets, but will they be able to compete at the Winter Olympics? Time will tell…