Triplets, 17, Have Sights Set on the 2026 Winter Olympics. They’ve Been Training for It Since They Were 5

The Rivers triplets — Helaina, Henniyah, and Henri Rivers IV — have already made U.S. history as the first Black triplets to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Now, they’re chasing a new goal: competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics as alpine skiers for Jamaica, their mother’s home country.

The 17-year-old siblings from Long Island, New York, are training in Argentina to prepare for the games. “My mom came to the U.S. when she was young. She didn’t grow up skiing, but she learned when she met my dad,” Helaina said. Their mom, Karen, is Jamaican, and their dad, Henri, is American. Both are now certified ski instructors and alpine race coaches.

The triplets started skiing when they were just one year old. By the time they were five, they were racing competitively. They began in a children’s ski program before joining the Windham Race Factory team in the Catskill Mountains. “We just kept moving up as we got older,” Helaina said. “We’ve made lifelong friends through racing.”

Born in August 2007, the triplets spent their first seven years in Brooklyn. Their parents introduced them to snow sports like snow tubing, sledding, snowboarding, and skiing. Over time, alpine racing became their passion.

At age 14, they committed to six days a week of training while attending boarding schools that supported both their academics and skiing careers. “Without skiing, I don’t really have a purpose that separates me from other people,” Henri IV said. “This is my main goal in life.”

Two of the triplets have already represented Jamaica at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in South Korea. Their father says the Olympic dream has been in the works for almost 20 years — even before they were born. “It could have ended if they didn’t like snow or skiing, because I wasn’t going to force them,” he explained.

The Rivers’ dad believes the best is yet to come. “They’re going to be phenomenal racers for years,” he said proudly. “But more than that, they’re great people. They’ve stuck with scouting, earned Eagle Scout rank, graduated from good schools, and gotten into college. I feel like I’ve done my job.”

To earn Eagle Scout, each triplet completed a separate community service project in the same location. Helaina replaced an old, unstable wooden flagpole at a local town hall with a sturdy 25-foot fiberglass pole. Henniyah added paving stones, new cement, and a pathway around the pole. Henri installed flower boxes and two benches overlooking the flag area.

Now, the triplets are working toward making history again — this time on the Olympic stage.