Haiti Olympic Committee Plans Five-Year Earthquake Anniversary

(ATR) A mass in Port-au-Prince, Haiti will commemorate the new era of the Haitian Olympic Committee.

On Jan. 12, 2010, a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti, killing over 100,000 Haitians.

In an exclusive interview with Alain Jean Pierre, HOC secretary general says the HOC is planning a mass for either Jan. 21 or 22 at Sacre Coeur church. The location has symbolic weight as it was largely destroyed in the tremors and is still being rebuilt.

"It is a new beginning", Jean Pierre said of the committee’s efforts, expressing optimism for the future.

One bright spot for the country is triple jumper Samyr Laine. He made the final round of the triple jump competition in London, and Jean Pierre said Laine is a prime medal candidate for the 2015 Pan American Games and 2016 Olympics. Should Laine win an Olympic medal, that would be Haiti’s first medal since the 1928 Olympics.

"I think we’re coming very, very strong."

The IOC opened a Sport for Hope Centre in Port-au-Prince over the summer, the second such program worldwide. Jean Pierre said the facility is already paying dividends.

"It’s a completely different turn we’re taking now.

"I was very impressed that last summer, right after the center inauguration for example, we had 8,000 young kids participating in the program of different federations."

The two years immediately after the earthquake, Jean Pierre said the number of athletes in the country dropped dramatically, but those numbers have picked up steadily since then.

Written by Ed Hula III

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