Overview:
Haiti is competing on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo with a two-athlete delegation. This story highlights key info about their historic participation, from athletes and sports activities to uniforms and cultural significance.
Haiti is again on the Winter Olympics with a two-athlete delegation competing in alpine and cross-country snowboarding on the 2026 Video games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Stevenson Savart, Haiti’s first Olympic cross-country skier, carried the nationwide flag in the course of the Parade of Nations, a proud second for Haitians at house and throughout the diaspora.
From a uncommon repeat look to culture-forward uniforms and diaspora illustration, listed here are six issues to find out about Haiti’s presence on the Winter Video games stage.
1. A uncommon winter-games appearnce
The exhibiting marks solely the second time Haiti has appeared on the winter video games after debuting in 2022.
2. Two athletes, two ski disciplines
- Richardson Viano —alpine skier returning to signify Haiti after competing in Beijing 2022
- Stevenson Savart — Haiti’s first ever Olympic cross-country skier.
3. Increasing diaspora, id on show
Each athletes grew up overseas however selected to signify their ancestral homeland on sport’s largest stage.
Forward of the Video games, Viano instructed the AP, “Once you speak about Haiti it’s in catastrophic phrases. This can be a method to discover one thing good.”
“I’m very proud that I can try this for Haiti,” Savart stated. “Having Haiti seen will give me much more vitality.”
Their presence highlights the function of the Haitian diaspora in increasing the nation’s sporting footprint.
4. Uniforms stitched with symbolism
Staff Haiti launched among the most talked-about uniforms on the Milano-Cortina Video games — hand-painted designs by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean impressed by Haitian artwork and id.
The design attracts from a portray by Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié, that initially included revolutionary chief Toussaint Louverture on a pink horse. The Worldwide Olympic Committee required the removing of Louverture’s determine for neutrality guidelines — however the pink, riderless horse stays, lending symbolic energy and sweetness to the uniform.
5. Greater than trend — a cultural assertion
The ensuing costume, and the acclaim it has acquired, is becoming for Stella Jean, who treats the uniforms as cultural armor, a canvas to share Haiti’s historical past with the world. And, a chance to inform a narrative about Haiti that goes past headlines of hardship and into the realm of celebration and pleasure.
The outfits have drawn worldwide consideration for mixing sport, artwork and nationwide id.
6. Outcomes and upcoming races
As of Tuesday, solely Savart had competed, ending sixty fourth in cross-country snowboarding. Males’s alpine snowboarding, Viano’s competitors, is anticipated to happen Thursday and Friday.