Facts about sport in Cuba
DID YOU KNOW… Cocaine was the drug used by disgraced Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor Sanabria, known for his impressive disqualification from the 1999 Pan American Games in Canada. After a failed anti-doping test and an investigation, PASO (Pan American Sports Organization) ordered the Cuban high jumper Javier Sotomayor Sanabria to return the gold medal he won in the high jump. He said, “I’ve only seen that stuff in the movies. I’m the victim of a stunt, a dirty trick.”
DID YOU KNOW… The most famous Sudanese athlete in history, Yamile Aldama was born in Havana, Cuba. Yamile Aldama is a Sudanese athlete specialized in triple jump and long jump. She represented Cuba until 2003 (Pan American Games and World Championships). After becoming a Sudanese citizen. Sudan is one of the poorest black African countries…
DID YOU KNOW… Cuba sent only 7 athletes to the 2007 World University Games in Thailand, responding to Fidel Castro’s fears about future defections… The Cuban delegation had athletes competing in two Olympic sports: judo (yanelis Mestre and Kaliema Antomadim ) and athletics (Andy Gonzáez, Yarianna Martínez, Yenimar Arencibia and Alexei Chivas). In general, the Cuban team finished in 40th place, after the People’s Republic of China, Great Britain, South Korea, Thailand, Germany, the United States, Taiwan, Italy, Kazakhstan, Canada, Iran, Australia, Belarus, Mexico, Turkey, Austria. , Poland, Hungary, North Korea, Czech Republic, Morocco, Lithuania, Switzerland, Finland, France, Ukraine, Brazil, Romania, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Cyprus, Ireland, Latvia, Slovenia, Egypt, Mongolia and Portugal.
DID YOU KNOW… For political reasons, Cuba boycotted the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.
DID YOU KNOW… Like Czechoslovakia (currently the Czech Republic), Hungary, Poland, East Germany (currently Germany), Bulgaria, North Korea and the USSR, Cuba boycotted the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (United States). Some Cuban athletes – sprinter Sylvio Leonard, runner Alberto Juantorena, boxer Juan Hernández, hurdler Alejandro Casañas, volleyball players Mireya Luis Hernández, Mercedes “Mamita” Pérez, Mercedes Pomares, Imilcis Téllez, Josefina Capote and Leonel Marshall – lost their Olympic opportunities.
DID YOU KNOW… Niurka Montalvo is a Spanish long jumper. She was born on June 4, 1968 in Havana, Cuba. Like Magaly Esther Carvajal Rivera (volleyball player), Iván Pérez Vargas (water polo player), Joan Lino Martínez (long jumper) and Rolando Uríos (handball player), she became a Spanish citizen in 1999.
DID YOU KNOW… In the 1940s and 1950s, baseball became the most popular sport in Cuba, thanks to heroes like Adolfo Luque, Sandalio Consuegra, Conrado Marrera and Orestes Miñoso.
DID YOU KNOW… Cuba hosted the 2nd Baseball World Cup in 1939. The Cuban team won the championship, with Nicaragua in second place and the United States in third place…
DID YOU KNOW… Between February 25 and March 9, 1951, the Cuban delegation participated in the First Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, winning 7 gold, 8 silver and 10 bronze medals. Overall, the Cuban team ranked fourth, after Argentina, the United States and Chile.
DID YOU KNOW THAT… From 1900 to 1958 Cuba had great athletes: Rafael Fortún (athletics), Angel García (athletics), Bertha Díaz (athletics), Margaret Chapman (nails), Ricardo Morales (tennis), Raúl Capablanca (chess) and Ramón Fonst (fencing).
DID YOU KNOW… Lissethe Bustamante, a Cuban journalist and witness, known for her interviews with Fidel Castro, has denounced that she was raped by the Olympic champion Teófilo Stevenson in 1984.
DID YOU KNOW… For political reasons, Cuba will not send a boxing team to the World Cup in the United States.
DID YOU KNOW… The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba, between August 2 and 18, with the participation of 39 countries. The 1991 Pan American Games were a great pride for Fidel Castro Ruz.
DID YOU KNOW… Between August 25 and September 2, 2007, the Cuban delegation participated in the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan. Overall, the Cuban delegation ranked 11th, after the United States, Kenya (Africa), Russia, Ethiopia (Africa), Germany, the Czech Republic, Australia, Jamaica (Caribbean), the Bahamas (Caribbean), Great Britain and Belarus.
DID YOU KNOW THAT… In 1987, Cuba did not compete in the Junior Women’s Volleyball World Championship in Seoul (South Korea). The reason: there were no diplomatic relations between Cuba and South Korea.
DID YOU KNOW… In the 1970s, Alberto Juantorena, a famous Cuban runner, was trained by Polish-born Zygmunt Zabierzowski. Under the direction of Zygmunt Zabierzowski, Alberto Juantorena won two gold medals at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.
DID YOU KNOW… For political reasons, Cuba did not send a baseball team to the 27th Baseball World Cup in South Korea in 1982.
DID YOU KNOW… Along with North Korea, Seychelles, Albania, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Nicaragua, Cuba boycotted the 1988 Olympic Games in South Korea.