Some parents of U.S.-born Haitian Olympians are moved by children representing motherland

CAP-HAITIEN — Every time Ketelie Chatfield thinks about her daughter, Emelia Chatfield, representing Haiti at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, she automatically reminisces about the hard work her late father, Anelus Arre, put in to move their family to the United States.

Ketelie Chatfield reflects on the sacrifices made by her father, which enabled her to move to the U.S. and provide better opportunities for her family. This move allowed Emelia to receive world-class track and field training, ultimately qualifying her to represent Haiti at the Olympics.

“That would’ve been a very proud moment for him [my father],” Chatfield said. “To see after all of the work that he has put in, now his granddaughter is representing his country. He loved Haiti… When I think of Mimi running that’s where my mind goes too. That’s who I think of.”

Born in Miami and a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Emelia Chatfield has excelled in track and field, particularly in hurdles. Her rigorous training and dedication have prepared her to compete on the world stage.

Chatfield will run the hurdles for Haiti at the Olympics, starting from Aug. 7. She is one of the seven athletes who are representing Haiti in Paris 2024. The others are sprinter Christopher Borzor, swimmers Mayah Chouloute and Alexandre Grand’Pierre, Judoka Philippe Metellus, boxer Cedrick Belony and gymnast Lynnzee Brown.

All of them were born outside of Haiti, except for Metellus. Chatfield, Borzor, Chouloute, Grand’Pierre and Brown were born in the U.S. and Belony in Canada.

Parents in the Haitian Diaspora are usually elated when their children are connected with Haiti to the point that they choose to represent it on the world stage, underscoring a sense of patriotism and strong cultural ties. The decision made by these six Haitian Olympians born outside of Haiti is no different.  

“I wanted to make my mom proud by running for her country,” Emelia Chatfield said. “I feel pretty excited to run, represent Haiti and have our flag on my chest as I’m running.”

Emelia Chatfield’s mother hails from Beauvois, Jean-Rabel—a commune in the Northwestern Department—and moved to Miami when she was 12. Meanwhile, Emelia Chatfield’s father is from Miami so she grew up in a mixed household. Emelia Chatfield remembers her family alternating between visiting her father and mother’s side of the family for the holidays. 

Emelia Chatfield, now 22, connected deeper to Haiti when she visited Port-au-Prince, Jean-Rabel and Mare-Rouge, northwestern communities where her mother originated, when she was 13.

“I got to actually see the country and the people there,” Emelia Chatfield said. “And I also have family in Miami who are Haitians so just being around them pushed me to run for Haiti as well.”

Emelia Chatfield qualified for the Olympics after running the 100-meter hurdles in 12.72 seconds during the Division 1 West First Round while competing for The University of Texas at Austin. She recently completed her senior season, in which one of her best accomplishments was finishing as the runner-up of the 100-meter hurdles at the Texas Invitational, clocking a time of 13.9 seconds.

Chatfield wants to prove to the world that she, a woman of Haitian origin, can excel at the Olympics.

“I want to be able to put Haiti on the map athletically,” Chatfield said. “I want to show that there are athletes out here who can be among the top athletes like the Americans and the Jamaicans.”

Parents instilling Haitian pride into children

Similar to Emelia Chatfield, Atlanta native Alexandre Grand’Pierre also deeply connected with Haiti when he visited the country for the first time in 2013. The Grand’Pierre family visited Port-au-Prince, Grand Goâve, Les Cayes, Île-à-Vache, Camp Perrin, Pestel and Saint-Marc, and more areas with breathtaking sights, during a 10-day trip. One of the landmarks the Grand’Pierre family visited then was Fort Jacques, a fortress just outside of Port-au-Prince.

“When they traveled to Haiti they saw that Haiti isn’t just what they hear on the news,” Grand’Pierre’s father, Reginald Grand’Pierre, said. “Why weren’t they too comfortable with Haiti? It’s because when they were in school or outside of home they only heard negative news about Haiti.”

The Grand’Pierres also helped their children connect with Haiti by holding a yearly Haitian Family Fun Day picnic in Georgia for the past 15 years. The picnic was held on July 27 at Red Top Mountain State Park in Cartersville, Georgia this year, the same day Grand’Pierre competed in his first swim meeting at the Olympics.

Grand’Pierre swam the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:02.85, finishing in 28th place overall. He failed to make it to the finals since the only top 16 swimmers qualified.

Grand’Pierre had qualified for the Olympics after winning the gold medal for the 100-meter breaststroke at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships (C.C.A.N.) on Jun 27 at the Paris Aquatics Centre.

During that race, Grand’Pierre broke the 100-meter breaststroke record for the Haitian team, finishing the race in one minute and 2.39 seconds. Grand’Pierre is also Haiti’s record holder for the 50 and 200-meter breaststroke and 200-meter individual medley.

Two older sisters of Grand’Pierre also competed in the Olympics before him in swimming. Naomy Grand’Pierre swam in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Four years later, Emelie Grand’Pierre represented Haiti at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

The Grand’Pierres mainly put their children in swimming when they were younger because three of the mother’s, Clio Grand’Pierre, cousins died from drowning in two separate incidents. 

Clio Grand’Pierre is from Pestel, a commune in the Grand’Anse Department while her husband grew up in Saint-Marc, a well–known commune in the Artibonite Department. The two met in Montreal in 1993. 

Because of their devotion to instill Haitian pride and patriotism into their children, Alexandre Grand’Pierre proudly represented Haiti at one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

“Our flag is heavy,” Clio Grand’Pierre, 55, said. “After Alex won the gold medal [at the C.C.A.N.] and got on the podium and La Dessalinienne [Haiti’s national hymn] was playing it was a reminder for all Haitians everywhere that they have a country to defend.”

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Some parents of U.S.-born Haitian Olympians are moved by children representing motherland was first posted on July 29, 2024 at 10:48 am.