PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) The muscles glistened as bodybuilders from Haiti and the Dominican Republic flexed and strutted onstage in the first such showdown between the neighboring countries whose relations are often tense.
Sunday’s event was organized by the Dominican Bodybuilding Federation and a local Haitian bodybuilding group to generate support for the sport and make it more accessible, especially in Haiti where a handful of bodybuilders struggle to become professionals in a country where many people make less than $2 a day.
Among those competing was Spely Laventure, a 30-year-old Haitian who won five competitions in the past year but struggles to find sponsors and the nutrition he needs, especially after losing his job as a loan officer.