Building the new Caribbean powerhousesports

By combining sports and education, CRESO has been radically transforming the country’s Olympic performance, supporting the success of its athletes both, on and off the field.

“The Dominican Republic emerges as the new potency in Caribbean sports”, assures Mr. Manuel Luna Sued, Executive Director of Creando Sueños Olímpicos (CRESO), and President of the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santo Domingo (CCPS). While his optimism may sound superlative, it is well supported in positive results. At the Tokyo Olympic Games, CRESO’s athletes surpassed the country’s expectations with five medals: two in athletics, two in weightlifting and one in baseball. A true feat for a country that had only won seven medals in its entire Olympic history, four of them after 2008. “This is explained by the work we have been doing over the last 12 years from the private sector, all while working together with the Dominican Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sport”, says Mr. Luna. Indeed, a big part of their success lies in their structure. Since its official foundation in 2011, CRESO operates as a privately-financed NGO, while their sporting infrastructure is provided by public institutions. As Mr. Luna explains, “the private sector contributes almost US$2 million every year in a magnanimous way, without tax reduction, purely with the conviction that through sports and education we can create a better country.”

Their other key element is CRESO’s long-term focus on education. Acknowledging the realities of the past, when most retired athletes ended up in poverty, they created a program that offers educational opportunities from basic schooling to master degrees. Today, all of their 123 athletes -many of whom come from low-income families- are either studying or have graduated, and those already retired have become successful professionals or entrepreneurs. “Athletes, being natural leaders, have a desire to succeed. So when their sporting life is over, we turn this desire into their working life. This way our program will continue to yield its fruits in the long-term”, states Mr. Luna. ma, the Dominican Republic and the USA. “We have people all over the world offering all types of logistic solutions to our clients, whether they are individuals or companies”, states Mr. Atallah.

In the future, CRESO expects to repeat and surpass their past achievements by gaining medals in other disciplines such as judo, taekwondo and gymnastics, and by privileging a long-term view. “We must reach a model like Jamaica’s, where sport is a country-brand, but diversified, not just athletics”, says Mr. Luna. After all, their goal is anything but near-sighted.

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