HAITI'S FIRST WINTER OLYMPIAN RICHARDSON VIANO seeks to inspire. The teenage alpine skier is keen to put a positive spotlight on the âthe Pearl of the Antillesâ with his historic debut at Beijing 2022.
Richardson Viano wants to inspire young people and change perceptions of Haiti at Beijing 2022.
Viano will be the first Haitian to compete at a Winter Olympic Games when he takes to the slopes at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.
No Caribbean alpine skier has previously taken part at the Games, but Viano and Jamaica's Benjamin Alexander will both go in the giant slalom.
It is a fairytale for the 19-year-old who lived in an orphanage in Haiti for a year and a half before being adopted in December 2005 by French-Italian couple Andrea Viano and Silvia Grosso-Viano.
He learned to ski in the French Alps but failure to make his home national setup saw him consider quitting before the opportunity for his birthplace arose.
Viano has already forged new links to Haiti, and wants to show a different side to the country from the poverty, political instability and devastation caused by natural disasters which dominate the news.
âIt is a dream for me to be here and represent Haiti in a Winter Olympics for the first time. I hope this will show our country is about more than earthquakes and other disasters.â - Richardson Viano to the PA news agency
Three-year-old Viano arrived in his new home of Briançon with two girls from the same orphanage Bellandine and Natacha.
He was quickly put on skis by his father Andrea, a ski instructor and guide, and quickly took to the sport before impressing as a junior.
By 2018, Viano felt his dream of making the French team was unlikely and, with his enjoyment of the sport also receding, he considered quitting.
However, an unexpected opportunity arose the following year in the form of Jean-Pierre Roy, the president of the Haitian Ski Federation.
Roy represented Haiti at the 2011 FIS World Ski Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where he finished 78th in the slalom and 127th in the giant slalom, one of six global events in which he has competed.
He founded the Haitian Ski Federation a year earlier with French skiing coach Thierry Montillet following the devastating earthquake of 2010 on the principle of communicating positively about the Caribbean country and motivating Haitians through the values of sport.
They actively recruit athletes of Haitian descent and after getting hold of Viano's phone number, Roy asked him if he would like to represent the country of his birth.
In an earlier interview with Olympics.com, Viano said he thought it was a friend playing a prank on him but he looked Roy up on the internet and found there was indeed a Haitian Ski Federation.
After a few days, Viano called Roy and, accompanied by his parents, went to meet the man who was the first Haitian to compete at the World Championships.
He accepted Roy's offer and received his Haitian passport in the summer of 2019 with the International Ski Federation approving his switch in the November.
Three-year-old Viano arrived in his new home of Briançon with two girls from the same orphanage Bellandine and Natacha.
He was quickly put on skis by his father Andrea, a ski instructor and guide, and quickly took to the sport before impressing as a junior.
By 2018, Viano felt his dream of making the French team was unlikely and, with his enjoyment of the sport also receding, he considered quitting.
However, an unexpected opportunity arose the following year in the form of Jean-Pierre Roy, the president of the Haitian Ski Federation.
Roy represented Haiti at the 2011 FIS World Ski Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where he finished 78th in the slalom and 127th in the giant slalom, one of six global events in which he has competed.
He founded the Haitian Ski Federation a year earlier with French skiing coach Thierry Montillet following the devastating earthquake of 2010 on the principle of communicating positively about the Caribbean country and motivating Haitians through the values of sport.
They actively recruit athletes of Haitian descent and after getting hold of Viano's phone number, Roy asked him if he would like to represent the country of his birth.
In an earlier interview with Olympics.com, Viano said he thought it was a friend playing a prank on him but he looked Roy up on the internet and found there was indeed a Haitian Ski Federation.
After a few days, Viano called Roy and, accompanied by his parents, went to meet the man who was the first Haitian to compete at the World Championships.
He accepted Roy's offer and received his Haitian passport in the summer of 2019 with the International Ski Federation approving his switch in the November.
Richardson Viano competes in the giant slalom on Sunday 13 February with the first run at 10:15 Beijing time (02:15 GMT).
The second run is at 13:45 Beijing time (05:45 GMT).
https://www.google.com/amp/s/olympics.com/en/news/haiti-first-winter-olympian-richardson-viano-inspire-beijing-2022
"HAITI NAN JE OLENPIK IVĂ 2022 || ISTWA GWO ATLĂT AYISYEN RICHARDSON VIANO FĂ LEMOND ANTYE SEZI" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/Tf-JWOI7pkQ
Richardson Viano, Fayik Abdi bring Haiti, Saudi Arabia to Winter Olympics - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2022/02/04/haiti-saudi-arabia-winter-olympics/
Meet Richardson Viano, the alpine skier from Haiti making Olympic history | National Post
https://nationalpost.com/sports/olympics/2022-beijing-winter-olympics-haiti-skiing
Haitian-born skier Richardson Viano to compete at Winter Olympics in Beijing - Texas Metro News
https://texasmetronews.com/26398/haitian-born-skier-richardson-viano-to-compete-at-winter-olympics-in-beijing/
Making history | First Haitian to compete in Winter Olympic Games
https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/olympics/richardson-viano-first-haitian-to-compete-in-winter-olympics/85-a4c97947-fa12-43ed-b0ea-40ec5d65fbb8
#ski #Haitian #SportsHaiti
#HaitiSports #Haitianskier
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