The athletes bringing the Winter Olympics to new parts of the world

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. 

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