Samyr Laine (born July 17, 1984 in Nyack, New York) is a Haitian-American

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

er who competed for Haiti at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and other international competitions since the 2007 Pan American Games.

Early life

Laine's parents were born in Haiti. He began participating in sports in the 7th grade, where he was relegated to the distance events because of his size. Laine joined the team for the sprints, but ended up running the mile, 2-mile and steeplechase that year. The following year he picked up tennis for three years, even playing for his high school tennis team at Newburgh Free Academy. During the 2000 Sydney Olympics Laine watched and recorded every athletics event. The Games served as his inspiration and he began to train in anticipation of the 2000–2001 season. He trained and was able to negotiate his way into the 200m/400m group, with some horizontal jumping sprinkled in to help the team with points. He stepped away from the track again to focus on his schooling and debating, having been a member of the debate team since the 8th grade. Laine continued to train and competed at New York's Empire State Games during the summer.

Education and training

During his senior year of high school was when he was able to get a full year of athletics. He made substantial gains that year in what would quickly become his best event, the triple jump, improving from the 42 feet (12.80m) the year before to 45 feet (13.70m) indoors and then 46 feet (14m) outdoors, good enough for 3rd place at the State Championships. After being recruited by nearly all the Ivy League Schools, Laine chose to attend

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In his freshman year, he was roommates with

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), o ...

. In his four years at

his jump improved over 7 feet (2.15m). After two second-place finishes at the conference championships in his freshman year, he placed first in indoors and outdoors for the next two years. In his junior year, although battling with some injuries, he was able to achieve the status of All-American at the NCAA Championships. At that meet, he set what was the Ivy League record at the time and is still the

triple jump record of 51 feet, 11 1/4 inches and Harvard's outdoor triple jump record of 53 feet, 7 1/2 inches. The following year he struggled with more injuries and was forced to “red shirt” his final outdoor season and watch the team of which he had been voted captain from the sidelines. His injury enabled him to use his final season of collegiate eligibility at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, where he finished his graduate program in 2007. He was able to return to his 2005 form, and achieved the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

standard. He later graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2010.

Athletic career

It was in 2007 that he first competed under the Haitian flag. Although he was born in the United States, both of his parents and the majority of his extended family had emigrated from Haiti, which allowed him to represent the nation at the

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and beyond.

Personal bests

Personal life

Laine currently trains and resides in the Washington, D.C. area and speaks fluent French. Laine is working on his Jump for Haiti Foundation, which will focus on mentoring Haitian children and developing more Haitian athletes.

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laine, Samyr 1984 births Living people People from Nyack, New York Sportspeople from Rockland County, New York Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Haitian triple jumpers American sportspeople of Haitian descent Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Olympic athletes for Haiti Pan American Games competitors for Haiti Texas Longhorns men's track and field athletes Harvard Crimson men's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for Haiti Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Haiti Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Male triple jumpers Haitian male athletes Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics