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Stevenson Savart raced across the finish line at the Tesero cross-country skiing stadium in Val di Fiemme, in 64th place but the crowd erupted into cheers.
The first man to represent Haiti in cross-country skiing at the Olympics was also the country’s flag-bearer. As onlookers clapped, he waved his hands in the air to encourage the fans and then took a bow.
WATCH | Stevenson Savart competes:
After being adopted by a French couple, Savart, 25, grew up in France and started his skiing journey there. But he wanted to represent his birth country and show that Haiti belongs in elite winter sports. Haiti does not have snow so it’s not unrealistic to wonder how they — or other sans-snow nations — ended up at the Milano-Cortina Olympics.
How do countries fall in love with a sport that is largely unfamiliar to them? How can you appreciate the freedom of gliding across an icy surface if you don’t live in a place with ice?
The emergence of nations that aren’t traditionally recognized in the winter sports ecosystem has become a bit of a cool topic (pun intended) at these Games. There are 33 countries with only one or two athletes competing, including 14 athletes from eight African countries, up from six athletes from five countries at Beijing four years ago.
There are a few reasons why there is an uptick of countries not typically associated with snow and ice, including Nigeria, Kenya, Jamaica, and various tropical and small-island nations participating in Winter Olympic sports.
Eritrea is represented by Canadian-born alpine skier Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda. This is Abeda’s third Olympics and most likely his last. But his mission went beyond a podium finish: it was to create a place for Eritrea in winter sports.
“It became more about trying to foster an environment that is more inclusive to people like me, and trying to encourage members of my (Eritrean) community, especially in the diaspora, that they don’t have to stick to certain norms,” he said in an interview with Reuters.
The diaspora is one of the reasons why we see more countries in the winter sports space as immigrants are exposed to and integrated into the sports culture of the countries they move to.
Abeda was born in Fort McMurray, Alta., and grew up skiing in the Rocky Mountains. Other Canadian youth with strong family ties or ancestry in other countries are experiencing the same thing.
“It doesn’t matter how they do, the fact that they are there is enough,” said Sabrina Razack, an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Toronto, of the impact of athletes like Abeda at the Olympics.
Nicolas Claveau-Laviolette is Canadian but is representing Venezuela in cross-country skiing. It is not uncommon in sport for players to grow up in one place but represent another country on the international stage and it’s an opportunity for athletes to gain international experience while remaining connected to their history and culture.
WATCH | Venezuela’s lone athlete is Canadian:
Maaria Shaikh, 16, was born in Mississauga, Ont., and like many young women hockey players in the area, loves the PWHL and is a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. But Shaikh also plays on Pakistan national women’s ice hockey team.
Her mission is two-fold: win on the ice and change preconceptions of what Pakistanis can do in sports.
“One thing might surprise people is that Pakistanis can actually play ice hockey and not only that, but we can excel in it,” Shaikh told me over text.
Both Pakistan’s men and women hockey teams were part of the 2025 Amerigol LATAM hockey tournament last August.
“In our Florida tournament we did exceptionally well … with the women’s being our first time playing, and winning bronze. And then for the men winning gold,” she said.
The Amerigol mission seeks to bring together non-traditional hockey markets and, in the words of the organization, “transcend geographical boundaries, bringing together teams from regions where ice hockey is emerging as a cultural phenomenon.”
Pakistan is not at the Olympic level yet, but Shaikh doesn’t doubt it can happen. “Why not us?” is the mentality.
While Pakistan has never won a medal at the Winter Games, it has had a presence since Vancouver 2010 and is continuing to build its winter sports programs. Other countries are also building programs with ex-pats or homegrown athletes who have a passion for a particular sport. But success doesn’t come overnight — it is a marathon, not a sprint.
There are two Caribbean nations — Trinidad and Tobago (with foreign-born athletes) and Jamaica — competing at 2026 Milano-Cortina.
Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsleigh pilot, Axel Brown, was born in the U.K. but represents Trinidad and Tobago. His mission is jokingly called “Operation Don’t Come Last”.
Jamaica’s bobsled team is a pop-culture favourite. Since its 1988 Olympic debut in Calgary, a men’s team has appeared in every Winter Games and the women’s team qualified for Pyeongchang 2018. The men’s team won gold at the North American Cup in November.
Shane Pitter and Junior Harris, members of the four-man Jamaican bobsled team, tell The National about the moment they made history, winning their first international competition at the North American Cup in Whistler.
Kelli Delka, a 37-year-old skeleton slider who lives in Texas, is Puerto Rico’s sole Olympian in Milano Cortina. She also competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Like Pakistan, Puerto Rico is building its winter sports program.
Delka was introduced to the head of the federation and used her talents from previous sports as a track athlete and cheerleader for sliding.
On being an Olympian, Delka said, “I worked really hard to make it, especially as a small nation. I have to grind even harder.”
Delka’s legacy won’t be about the results, but in Puerto Rico being represented at a Winter Olympics.
“It becomes such a moment that offers a sense of belonging,” Razack said. “It’s a long time coming.”
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