Dieudonné LaMothe (born 29 July 1954) is a

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an long-distance runner, the first sportsperson from his country to take part in four

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Olympic Games

LaMothe competed in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

and the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

at the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, 1988 and

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Games. He finished last in the 5000 metres in 1976 and last again in the 1984 marathon, although in that case he nevertheless beat the 29 athletes who did not complete the course. LaMothe was one of a number of Haitian runners sent to the Olympic Games by the "Baby Doc" Duvalier regime during the 1970s and 1980s - mostly picked from among Duvalier's personal friends - who gained notoriety by setting record worst times, many of which are still held. Other such athletes include Anilus Joseph, who started his 1972

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

qualifying heat too fast, leading the pack for two laps but dropping out with a mile still to run; Wilnor Joseph, whose

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

in 1976 took 2:15.26; and Charles Olemus, who ran for over 42 minutes to complete the 1976 10,000 metres race. In 1986, after the overthrow of Duvalier's government, LaMothe gave an interview in which he claimed to have feared for his life at the hands of the dictator's regime if he did not complete the 1984 marathon. According to LaMothe, he was told that he would take part in the Games only a fortnight before the team left for Los Angeles and received only $250 for his participation. He borrowed his running kit from two Americans and eventually completed the race in 2:52:18, in 78th and last place. Although he hoped to achieve a top ten placing, LaMothe's best result in the Summer Olympics was 20th place in the marathon at the 1988 Games in Seoul, in a time of 2h 16m 15s. He was 38 years and 15 days old when he competed in the 1992 Games in Barcelona, making him Haiti's oldest ever participant in the Olympics.

Other competitions

With funding from friends, LaMothe was able to take part in the 1985

New York City marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...

, which he completed in 60th place. He won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games and came sixth in the marathon at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

. LaMothe still holds the Haitian record for the men's marathon of 2:14:22, achieved in France in April 1988. He won the 1996 Long Island Marathon by seven seconds. LaMothe again represented Haiti in the 5000 metres at the 1991 World Athletics Championship but failed to finish his qualifying heat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:LaMothe, Dieudonne 1954 births Living people Haitian male long-distance runners Haitian male marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games Olympic athletes for Haiti Pan American Games competitors for Haiti World Athletics Championships athletes for Haiti Haitian male athletes Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Haiti Competitors at the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics