A history-making cross-country skier from the Caribbean country of Haiti has spoken of a "childhood dream coming true" after competing at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and hopes his unlikely story will inspire others to dare to chase their own dreams.
Stevenson Savart is one of only two athletes from Haiti at the Games and became the first person from the Caribbean Island to compete in Olympic cross-country skiing.
Born in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, one of the most deprived places on Earth, Savart's story proves that the journey to a achieving an Olympic dream can take many routes.
He was adopted at the age of three and settled in the mountains of eastern France before he started skiing at just five-years-old.
After already having the honor of being Haiti's flagbearer during the Olympic opening ceremony at the iconic San Siro stadium in Milan, the 25-year-old Savart was finally able to achieve a lifelong ambition as he took to the competition field.
"The Olympic Games have really been my best experience. It's a childhood dream come true and it's just magical. The message I would like to get across is that anyone can do it, even Haitians. Even if we don't have a lot of resources, we don't have the same resources as the big nations. But the proof that today I am at the Olympics, we succeeded," he said.
While Haiti is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis, Savart hopes his remarkable Olympic tale will give the Haitian people much needed hope and may even inspire other youngsters to follow in his footsteps one day.
"The number of messages from Haitians that I received is incalculable. But, yeah, it's a lot of very warm and very kind messages from them, a lot of support and they are all in at the end of the day. And that's just magic and it really gives them hope. Some even said that they want to follow me and go to the Olympics. So it's just incredible," he said.
Having completed all his cross-country skiing events, Savart put on a respectable showing as he outperformed many other athletes, achieving rankings of 79th in the 10km interval start free race, 64th in the 10km+10km skiathlon, and 82nd in the sprint event.
While determined to improve his performance, Savart's impact extends far beyond the sport as he continues to open doors and expand horizons for future generations.
History-making Haitian cross-country skier hopes to inspire Caribbean youths to follow dreams
Former President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea (ROK) was sentenced to life in prison on charges of insurrection stemming from his declaration of emergency martial law, live footage showed Thursday.
The Seoul Central District Court delivered its judgment in the trial of first instance in the martial law case of Yoon, which was broadcast live to the public, saying the crux of Yoon's martial law case was the fact that troops were deployed to the National Assembly.
The court explained that the martial law declaration constitutes insurrection if it infringes upon the authority of the National Assembly, noting that Yoon attempted to prevent the parliament from functioning properly for a significant period.
It recognized that the impeached leader committed insurrectionary acts with the intent to subvert the constitutional order, finding him guilty of ringleading the insurrection.
By ROK's law, the insurrection ringleader can only be sentenced to capital punishment or life imprisonment if found guilty.
The team of Cho Eun-suk, independent counsel in charge of Yoon's insurrection and other relevant crimes, requested a death sentence for Yoon on charges of orchestrating the insurrection by declaring an unconstitutional emergency martial law despite the absence of war, incident or equivalent national emergencies.
Yoon was also charged with mobilizing martial law troops and police to obstruct the National Assembly's resolution to lift the martial law and attempting to detain key political figures such as the leaders of the main political parties and the parliamentary speaker.
Yoon became the country's third former president to stand trial on insurrection charges, following former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were convicted for military coup and brutal crackdown under martial law.
The Seoul court merged three trials in December last year for eight suspects, including Yoon and seven other senior military and police officials, charged with performing critical duties in the insurrection.
The court handed former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun a 30-year prison sentence, convicting him of performing a significant role in the insurrection.
The special counsel team sought life imprisonment for Kim, whom it called a mastermind who planned and led the insurrection alongside Yoon by mobilizing the military.
Former Defense Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won and former National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho received prison terms of 18 and 12 years, respectively, for their key roles in the insurrection.
The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec 3 in 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.
The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon in April of 2025, officially removing him from office.
Yoon was indicted under detention in January of 2025 as a suspected ringleader of insurrection.
ROK ex-president Yoon sentenced to life in prison on insurrection
South Korean ex-president Yoon sentenced to life in prison on insurrection
