Juan Carlos Morales Pla Successfully Completes His Solidarity Journey From Sosúa to Puerto Plata

Juan Carlos Morales Pla Successfully Completes His Solidarity Journey From Sosúa to Puerto Plata
San Felipe, Puerto Plata, December 1st, 2014

With a swim time of 5 hours 56 minutes, Juan Carlos Morales Pla successfully completed last Saturday his solidarity journey of 16.9 kilometers of continuous swimming from Playa Charamicos, in Sosúa, to El Pueblito, in Puerto Plata.

With a favorable climate, the blessing of Father Edward Gilbert and a round of applause from those who gathered at the departure point, the amateur swimmer started his challenge in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean at 7:40 am, arriving at the finish line at 1:36 pm, after some 9,823 strokes along the way with which he carried out his feat.

The feat of the athlete from Puerto Plata was monitored and assisted at all times by a great team of professionals headed by Dr. Benjamín Payano, and Augusto García, Director of Sportlab, a non-profit organization that is responsible for fostering high performance athletes, among which is renowned former ultra-distance swimmer Marcos Díaz, who for more than a decade entrusted his career development to that sports institution.

To carry out the Solidarity Journey project, Juan Carlos Morales Pla felt inspired to honor the memory of outstanding youths from the Puerto Plata province who died untimely and who left behind an inspiring sports legacy, among them his son, Carlos Eduardo Morales Vásquez, Javier Rosario, Junior Santana, José Carlos González Imbert, Antonio Cocco, Freddín Cabrera, Orlando Rodríguez, Carlos José Ureña, Steven Almonte Troche and most recently Oscar Taveras.

From this event, the foundation bearing the name of Carlos Eduardo Morales began to take shape. Its objective is to help foster, encourage and promote sports among youth from all walks of life in the Dominican Republic, providing support to hundreds of young people who have innate skills so that they are able to receive training.

The long-awaited arrival of the swimmer from Puerto Plata at the finish line took place before a large crowd that recognized the value of the initiative and celebrated the swimmer’s feat and gesture. Among the authorities and personalities who participated in the welcoming ceremony were: the provincial Governor, Dr. Iván Rivera; the Deputy Minister of Tourism for the Northern region, Julio Almonte; Congressman José Ignacio Paliza, and ship Captain Frank Polanco de los Santos, Commander of the Northern Naval Area; the provincial Director of the Ministry of the Environment, Carlos Finke; the provincial Director of Sports, Neftalí Lamouth, and the current swimming champion Miguel Portes.

The following persons also supported Juan Carlos Morales Pla’s Solidarity Journey: former ultra-distance swimmer and current Deputy Minister of Sports Marcos Díaz, who monitored and provided direct support to the project through his foundation. Díaz, along with his wife Nathalia Bentz, provided a donation in the form of googles to the Director of La Caravela de Colón Sports Club, Juri Fabri, to be used during the training in open water swimming of children and youth from the municipality of La Isabela, who are receiving coaching in this sport discipline.

In addition, Carib Wind Cabarete, Fantasía 90.5 FM and the Puerto Plata Swimming Club, donated swimming caps for the same purpose, while Ocean World offered a tour of its facilities to the young athletes.

After the corresponding health check-ups took place, a visibly moved Juan Carlos Morales Pla, addressed the audience, thanking all those who supported him in his Solidarity Journey.

“Gratitude and love go to all those who in some way or another supported me and included me in their prayers to make this goal a reality. To all my family, especially to my wife, Fernanda Vásquez de Morales, and to my daughters Damaris and Carla Victoria; to the technical team, and the Marcos Díaz Foundation, Sportlab, the Puerto Plata Swimming Club, Total Training, the Stono Academy, and to all the sponsors and the people of Puerto Plata, because together we have shown that all the goals we set in life can be achieved with faith, perseverance, discipline and dedication,” he said.

With this feat Morales, 47, becomes the second swimmer that has achieved an ultra-distance crossing in the open waters of the Atlantic, thereby becoming a living example of inspiration, and leaving a legacy of hope, life and transformation.