Long Island triplets strive for Winter Olympic Games after making Eagle Scout History

After they have become the first black triplet in the United States to reach the prestigious Eagle Scout ranking, his Helaina, Henniyah and Henri Rivers are IV setting Their sights on another remarkable milestone – competing at the Winter Olympics of 2026 as Alpine Skiers who represent Jamaica.

The 17-year-old brothers and sisters from Long Island, New York, currently train in Argentina, a step in the direction of fulfilling a goal that has been in the making for almost two decades.

“My mother came to the US when she was young, so she clearly didn’t grow on skiing, but she learned how to ski when she met my father,” Helaina said PEOPLESpoken about their mother, born in Jamaican, Karen, and American father, Henri. Both parents are now certified ski instructors and Alpine Race Coaches.

Introduced just one year old snow sports, the triplets began to race at the age of 5. “We grew up with skiing and since then we have been skiing,” said Helaina.

“We loved it.” The early years of the family in Brooklyn include many snow tubals, sledges and snowboarding before the children concentrated on competitive Alpine races as members of the Windham Race Factory in the Cats skills.

“We started in the Learning Center for Children … and then we went further to the Windham Race Factory,” Helaina recalled. “That is really what our racing career started.”

At the age of 14, skiing had become a commitment of six days a week at specialized boarding schools. For Henri IV, the sport is central to its identity. “Without skiing I don’t really have a whole goal in life … This is my only goal in life,” he said during a phone call from Argentina.

Two of the triplets have already represented Jamaica at the Olympic Games of the Youth in 2024 in South Korea, and their father believes that the best yet to come. “It will be phenomenal racers for years,” he said. “But what is best is that they are great individuals … I did my job.”

Their discipline extends beyond the slopes. For their Eagle Scout Service projects, the brothers and sisters worked together to beautify a public space in Brightwaters, New York. Helaina replaced a deteriorating wooden flagpole with a 25-foot fiber optic, Henniyah installed paving stones and cement paths, and Henri added flower boxes and benches overlooking the area.

Now that they balance the university plans with Olympic training, the rivers of Driage Lets prove that their urge reaches excellence far beyond the mountains.

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