On winter weekends, it was common to see Karen Rivers navigate Windham Mountain’s base village while steering a triple stroller as her crockpot warmed lunch for ski school students. Her triplets, who hopped onto skis when they learned to walk, spent weekends racing, then doing homework alongside instructors and the many others who treated Windham Mountain as a second home.

One of those triplets, Henri Rivers IV, is headed to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Rivers, 18, qualified to represent Jamaica, where his mother was born, in the men’s slalom on Feb. 16 in Bormio, Italy. His sisters, Helaina and Henniyah, will travel to Europe along with their parents after just falling short of qualification themselves.

“I’m super-excited just to represent Jamaica on the global stage yet again,” he said. “I did it in the Youth Olympics in 2024, and I get to do it with the best of the best in 2026.”

It’s a historic and deeply personal moment for Laurie Marshall-Lauria, the director of Windham’s ski and ride school, who’s known the Rivers trio for most of their lives.

“That ski-and-ride community, it’s a very special setting.” she said. “It’s a safe place to raise your kids.”

Henri has family ties to the region. His father, Henri Rivers III, grew up in Big Indian, learned to ski at Simpson Memorial Ski Slopes in Phoenicia and Belleayre, and coached and instructed at Windham for more than two decades. He put the kids on skis as toddlers not to chase medals but to judge whether they loved snow.

“This is not something I thought about yesterday,” said the elder Rivers. “I thought about this 20 years ago. Twenty years we’ve been planning this. My wife and I have put this plan in motion, and to be so close to reality is surreal.”

For years, the family made the same round trip, leaving their West Babylon home every Friday, skiing Saturday and Sunday and driving home in time for school on Monday. As the triplets’ talent blossomed, Windham’s race program became a proving ground and a community.

“Even when they were little, their talent was noticeable,” said Marshall-Lauria. “It was a family affair.”

That family spirit extends beyond the slopes. Karen Rivers, who recently retired after a 30-year career as a school administrator, prepared meals for the group and ensured that schoolwork came first once training ended.

“She’d tell them to get their stuff off and do their homework,” Marshall-Lauria said. “She helped them right here.”

As Henri prepares to race against the world’s best, maintaining his composure is just as important as his technique.

“Nerves definitely do show up,” he said. “But at the end of the day, they’re just like me. For one day, I’ve got to throw it all out the window. Because if you admire them, you can’t surpass them.”

He leaned heavily on meditation this season, a practice he learned from the Spanish professional alpine skier Albert Ortega. 

“Meditating, just clearing your head, making sure that everything is all good with you—it really helps,” he said. “The more you think, the worse you can definitely be.”

The journey has always carried weight beyond finish times. As Black athletes in a sport that remains overwhelmingly white, the triplets are accustomed to standing out, sometimes uncomfortably so.

“As we’ve gotten older, we just have to learn to brush nasty comments off. There are a lot of ignorant people out there, especially in the ski industry that will look at you as if it’s your first time on Earth,” Helaina said. “You get nasty looks, nasty comments. But we never let that impact the love we have for skiing. It will always be a part of our lives. It’s honestly fuel to keep going.”

The triplets’ off-mountain lives are as busy as their days on the slopes. The trio are the first Black U.S. triplets to attain Eagle Scout status and say scouting helped prepare them for independence, resilience and time away from home.

The triplets eventually left Windham for boarding school, Henri to Vermont’s Stratton Mountain School and the girls to New Hampshire’s Holderness School. The three, all dual citizens, decided after graduating last year to represent Jamaica in international competitions. 

The move opened doors that would have been much tougher to pry open in the crowded U.S. system. Henri secured his Olympic spot this winter.

After the Olympics, they’ll compete at the World Alpine Junior Ski Championships in Norway in March. They already have their sights set on future Winter Games.

For all the international competition, Henri said Windham holds a special place in their hearts.

“Every pro has a place they call home,” Henri said. “Windham is ours.”

Noah Eckstein is the editor-in-chief of The Overlook. Send correspondence to noah@theoverlooknews.com.