“The team and support I got while I was in Austin sort of bridged the time between Harvard, Law School, and being a professional track and field athlete,” Laine said. “It really gave me the boost I need.”

In the summer after starting Law School at Washington University in St. Louis, Hughes moved out to Austin with his former teammates. In the years since Laine began his international track and field career, ‘The Three Stooges’ have been there every step of the way.

Adjah, Laine’s blockmate at Harvard, will be traveling to London to cheer Laine on.

“They’ve always been encouraging me, keeping my head high and pushing me to do better and be the best I can be,” Laine said. “As far as support goes, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

A STUDENT-ATHLETE

Laine said that his time at Harvard helped him develop the work ethic necessary to balance his studies after college at Georgetown Law School with his budding professional athletic career.

Though his primary goal is to increase visibility and provide support for Haiti, Laine sees his experience as a teaching moment for young people in America as well.

“I feel like I’m on a selfless mission. Even though I have my own aspirations, this is for the country of Haiti,” Laine said. “But even for people in the United States who feel like athletic and academic success can’t go hand-in-hand, I hope there are young people out there who see my story and no longer think that that is the case.”

Laine’s work ethic and selflessness become clear in his personal interactions. He has a self-imposed policy of personally responding to every email sent to his website. On his YouTube account, Laine responds to every comment, often giving young athletes work-out advice and handling snarky internet commenters with grace.

“His being in London is not a fluke,” Hughes said. “He’s a legit athlete, and he’s a great guy.”

HAITIAN AT HEART

Among the curiosities of Laine’s Olympic campaign is the fact that he is competing for Haiti—a nation he had never visited until he was 26.

But Laine grew up speaking Creole at home. While at Harvard, he was heavily involved with both the Caribbean Club and the Harvard-Haitian Alliance, engaging with the sizeable Haitian community in the greater Boston area.

“I would say it was more like a Haitian raised in the U.S., rather than an American choosing to compete with Haiti,” Laine said.

Throughout Laine's childhood, he added, his mother feared returning to the nation that had caused so much suffering for the family.