Winter Olympics: West Babylon skier Henri Rivers IV competing in men's slalom for Jamaica

Henri Rivers IV isn’t trying to make the moment bigger than it already is.

The 18-year-old from West Babylon will stack his skiing talent against the best the world has to offer in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Feb. 16, when he represents Jamaica — his mother Karen’s home country — in men’s slalom at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, Italy.

“I just treat it like another race,” Rivers told Newsday. “You're going to be seen by a lot of other people, and just try your best, see what happens. There's a lot of competitors out there that are the best in the world, but I don't look at them like that because in racing, you can't admire them. Because if you admire them, you can't surpass them.

“You just got to treat it like just another race, and the best in the world are just another competitor.”

Despite Rivers’ measured mindset, his family beams with immeasurable pride. Henri is a triplet after all, with sisters Henniyah and Helaina also talented technical skiers who went through the Olympic qualifying process; they did not qualify this year, but all three aim to represent Jamaica in the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps and the 2034 Games in Utah.

“We're super excited,” Henniyah said. “We're more excited than Henri is. But he's so excited to represent our country, Jamaica. He's excited to bring this country on the map and just represent who he is and represent us as well.

“When he’s going to be skiing down, he'll be skiing with us too. He'll have us on his shoulders every step of the way.”

Their parents, Henri III, 64, and Karen, 68, are skiers themselves and coaches. They taught their children, who were born in Brooklyn before moving to West Babylon at a young age, how to ski at 1 1/2 years old.

“You coach kids and you can overdo it, and you get the kids to hate the sport,” Henri III said. “That's what I didn't want to happen. So I backed off of them quite a bit, and they had an affinity for it. They flocked to it. They loved it, and we're fortunate that they stuck it out.

“So now here we are . . .  16 1/2 years later, and we're looking at our son going to the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. It's amazing.”

Has that settled in?

“Each time it’s said I'm like, ‘Wow, that's my little Henri,’ ” Karen said. “It hasn't settled in. Someone said, ‘Oh, you must be over the moon.’ I said halfway because I still was waiting for the girls to qualify. They haven't qualified for this year, but I am ecstatic that all of us are going and we will see the ‘Rivers’ on the big screen.”

'This is a people sport'

About a year-long process for the triplets to be able to represent Jamaica culminated ahead of the 2024 Youth Olympics in South Korea, where Henri IV and Henniyah each raced. (Helaina was hurt.)

Henri IV wants to prove that the nation, better known for its Summer Olympics pedigree, belongs in winter sports as a “force in years to come.” In March, the triplets hope to represent Jamaica together at the World Junior Ski Championships in Norway.

The Rivers are making their mark in a predominantly white sport. Henri III recalled being the “only kid on the hill of color” growing up in the Catskills. He is the president of the National Brotherhood of Snowsports, an organization that is a trailblazer in introducing people of color to winter sports.

“We were little kids running around with mostly adults in a predominantly white field, and we didn't really understand what it meant to be Black athletes, to be Black skiers, mostly at mountains [where] it's just white,” Helaina said. “As we got older, growing up through [NBS], more athletes started coming in. It started to feel more comfortable, and then we started to understand and get the idea, ‘OK, this is something that we're trying to change, trying to diversify this sport.’

“Now there are over 30 athletes that are NBS athletes, and it's historical.”

Henri IV hopes to pave the way for the next generation of athletes and inspire them with his performance.

“This isn't just a white-only sport, this is a people sport,” he said. “Anyone can do it.”

'Built-in best friends'

One minute separates, from oldest to youngest, Helaina, Henri IV and Henniyah.

“We're built-in best friends, built-in teammates,” Helaina said. “Growing up doing the same sport, it just seems normal to us, and being able to do this sport together and try and qualify together has been amazing.”

Said Henri IV: “We kind of treat it as a team sport between the three of us, instead of just an individual sport like most other people think about it as. It just feels good knowing that I have such a good support system in them, and they feel good knowing that they have such a good support system with me.

“It goes hand in hand because I don't really see myself skiing without my siblings.”

They are defined by plenty more than skiing, too. After sprucing up Brightwaters Town Hall last summer, they earned Eagle Scout status, which is Scouting America’s highest honor. They were the first Black triplets in the U.S. and the first triplets in New York to become Eagle Scouts.

Henri IV grew up in Cub and Boy Scouts and his sisters in Girl Scouts. In 2019, a rule change allowed girls to join Boy Scouts. Helaina and Henniyah initially weren’t too fond of the idea, but they joined Henri’s troop. Henri was a couple ranks ahead of his sisters, but he waited so they could achieve Eagle Scout status together.

“He already won in our hearts”

Each of the triplets are supposed to become college skiers next fall, Henri attending Plymouth State University in New Hampshire and his sisters attending Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva. Helaina is planning to study marine biology, Henniyah is interested in law and Henri has been fascinated with the idea of becoming a fashion designer.

But first thing’s first: the Olympics.

Henri qualified in November in Dubai, securing enough points in his first entry-league FIS race there to lower his ranking and meet the Olympics’ criteria. He raced in South America last summer and has spent most of the last year with Ski and Snowboard Club Vail in Colorado.

“He already won in our hearts,” Henniyah said. “Let's make that clear. We're just glad that he's able to represent Jamaica and represent us as well because we're a whole, we're a package deal.”

What would make the Olympics a success?

“Getting a good result, for sure, would be the cherry on top for this whole Olympic experience, because I know I'm not just going to be some guy who just goes there,” Henri IV said. “I'm going to be someone who the pros can relate to because I kind of have the same story as them, skiing at such a young age and coming up in the skiing world and just doing my own thing.

“Hopefully they understand that I'm not just some bum that qualified out of nowhere. This is hard work and dedication.”