Stevenson Savart, 25, made history Sunday as the first man to represent Haiti in cross-country skiing at the Winter Games.
After serving as Haiti's flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony, Savart caught the heart of the crowd while making his Olympic debut in the men’s skiathlon. As he crossed the finish line in 64th place, the fans cheered him on and he took a bow.
"The goal is still to try and achieve the best possible performance and to push my limits. It's an immense source of pride and great happiness to wear this outfit and we're trying to be symbols for our small country,” Savart said in French in a video posted on Instagram, "and give them hope, because right now they are going through a rather dark period, so we're trying to shine a light on small countries.”
The first athlete to represent Haiti at a Winter Olympics was Alpine skier Richardson Viano in 2022. He finished 34th in the men's slalom that year and is making his second Olympic appearance at the Milan Cortina Games.
“It 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,” Viano said in 2022.
Viano was a source of inspiration for Savart, who was also born in Haiti and adopted. Savart grew up in the Vosges region of France where he skied as a child before doing the sport competitively.
Savart made his World Cup debut in January 2023 and has since skied for Haiti at the 2023 and 2025 World Championships.
Through a scholarship provided by the Olympic Solidarity program, he was able to afford the equipment and start he needed to attend the Games in Italy. The program aims to bring athletes from all backgrounds to the Olympic stage.
As a cross-country skier representing Haiti at the Winter Olympics, Savart told Olympics.com that he is determined to be taken seriously and counter prejudice in skiing. Through his hard work and ambition, he hopes to show young people that anything in possible.
"When I was younger, it could be hard being the only Black person skiing," Savart said. "People stare at you, really insistently, and it can be unsettling. But as you get older, you don’t care, you just do your thing."