Haiti's athletes at the Winter Olympics shine a positive light for a troubled nation

MILAN (AP) — The troubled Caribbean country, Haiti, has fielded two athletes for the Milan Cortina Winter Games, and they will proudly wear Haitian symbols — although one less than intended after intervention by the International Olympic Committee.

The skiers will compete in uniforms designed by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean that originally featured an image of Toussaint Louverture, the former slave who led a revolution that created the world’s first Black republic in 1804. The IOC ruled that the image violated Olympic rules barring political symbolism, requiring Jean to come up with a creative solution: painting over the nation's founding father.

Even so, competing on the elite global stage for winter sport is a powerful message of resilience from a tropical nation that has weathered so much tragedy. Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, gangs have grown in power. They now control 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and there has been a surge in rapes, killings and the recruitment of children by armed gangs.

“Haiti’s presence at Winter Olympics is a symbol, is a statement, not a coincidence,'' Haiti’s ambassador to Italy, Gandy Thomas, told The Associated Press at the Haitian Embassy in Rome. “We may not be a winter country, but we are a nation that refuses to be confined by expectation. … Absence is the most dangerous form of erasing.''

A riderless horse

Jean, who designed Haiti’s uniforms for the 2024 Paris Games, this time took inspiration from a painting of Louverture astride a red horse by Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié.

The IOC didn’t respond to the AP’s request for comment on Monday regarding why this image of the patriot was deemed a violation. But the Olympic Charter — the book of rules and protocol for the Games and Olympic sports bodies — binds the national Olympic committees to staying neutral in political matters. No demonstration of political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic site or venue.

To resolve the issue, Jean engaged Italian artisans to paint out the imposing figure, leaving a nonetheless dramatic image of a charging red horse against a lush tropical background. On its back, “Haiti” is written against an azure sky.

“Rules are rules and must be respected, and that is what we have done,’’ Jean told the AP at the embassy. "But for us, it is important that this horse, his horse, the general’s horse, remains. For us, it remains the symbol of Haiti’s presence at the Olympics.’’

Jean also created a look for women in the delegation. It features golden hoop earrings and a Haitian tignon, or turban, which women were once forced to wear by colonial masters to cover their hair so it wouldn’t upstage that of the colonizers.

“We know that in these few meters of cloth, in this uniform, we must concentrate all of history and a message," Jean said.

Haiti's athletes

Haiti’s path to the Winter Games traces its roots to the creation of its ski federation, on a wave of empathy after its devastating 2010 earthquake. The federation now counts seven athletes, two of whom who will compete in Jean's kit at the Olympics. Both receive financial support through the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity program to help with costs for training, equipment and travel to qualification events.

Richardson Viano, 23, became Haiti’s first Winter Olympian at the 2022 Beijing Games, finishing 34th in the men’s slalom.

Adopted by an Italian family in France at age 3, he initially skied for France before being approached by the Haitian Ski Federation — an organization he didn’t even know existed — and obtaining a Haitian passport. He said competing on the slopes offers a rare chance to challenge Haiti's downtrodden reputation.

“When you talk about Haiti it is in catastrophic terms. … This is a way to find something nice,'' he said by phone from Bosnia, where he was competing in pre-Games races.

The Haitian team also includes 25-year-old Stevenson Savart, the country’s first Olympic Nordic skier.

Adopted by a French family at age 3, Savart turned to Haiti after failing to qualify for France, and is fulfilling a lifelong dream.

“I am very proud that I can do that for Haiti,” Savart said by phone from his training base in France, acknowledging he expects to finish well behind the leaders in the men’s 20-kilometer skiathlon. But wearing Haiti's uniform when he competes in Predazzo will be a powerful motivator.

“Having Haiti visible will give me even more energy,” he said.

A message of resilience

Ambassador Thomas said he expects the story of Viano and Savart to resonate both at home and among the Haitian diaspora, despite ongoing hardship and political uncertainty back home — or perhaps because of it.

Cathleen Jeanty, a Haitian-American from New Jersey, said she knows very little about winter sports, but will be tuning in to watch Haiti's two athletes compete. Just like her, they grew up outside the country, but still feel connected.

“People who maybe don’t come from underrepresented communities, they don’t realize how important the cultural capital is to be able to stand elbow to elbow with your peers," said Jeanty, 32.

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Associated Press journalists Francesco Sportelli in Rome and Graham Dunbar in Milan contributed to this report.