When he was 1.5 years old, his parents abandoned him. The Haitañczyk is astonishing at the games

In 1988, the fans’ hearts were conquered by Jamaican bobsleighs. It is true that they did not even manage to finish the competition in fours, but they were a clear proof of the opportunity they give to the athletes. Today they are followed by Richardson Viano, who will start in alpine skiing.

Difficult childhood. Richardson Viano was born in Haiti, but his parents abandoned him and he went to Europe

Richardson Viano was born on August 16, 2002 in Haiti. When he was only one and a half years old, abandoned by his parents, he ended up in an orphanage there. It was the beginning of great changes in his life, but the real turning point came three years later.

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In 2005, the boy was adopted by Andreê Viano and Silvia Grosso-Viano, a French-Italian couple who lived in the French Alps, the birthplace of skiing. Thus began Richardson’s adventure with. As reported in the Haitian Times, Richardson Viano originally planned to represent the colors of France when he achieved promising results in his junior age, but this was not the case.

In 2019, however, the Haitian Ski Federation applied to the then 17-year-old Viano. Initially, the teenager thought it was a joke, but eventually went with his parents to meet Jean-Pierre Roy, head of the Haiti Ski Federation.

– Thanks to this I was able to get closer to my country of origin – he said in an interview with olympic.com.

He has already started in the world championships. Now he will represent Haiti at the Games

Viano has his start at the world championship behind him. In giant slalom he took 35th position. Later he obtained the Olympic qualification, which was perceived in Haiti as a spectacular success. The Haitian alpine will not make his debut at the Olympics until Sunday, February 13 at 3:15 Polish time, starting in giant slalom.

The 19-year-old, apart from sports rivalry in Beijing, also has a different mission. Viano decided to show that Haiti is not only poverty, political instability and destruction caused by earthquakes.

The representative of Haiti in alpine skiing admitted that he wanted to return to Haiti to get to know his roots, and also to show young people that it is worth pursuing to fulfill your dreams. Viano has already regained contact with the orphanage he comes from and, as you can see, he intends to continue this contact.