HAVANA, Cuba. – After the endless and boring chatter with which a young announcer “motivated” the television viewers to wait and watch live the arrival of the Cuban delegation that participated in the recently concluded Olympic Games, the athletes headed by Mijain Lopez and Erislandy Alvarezthe only winners of the title in this edition, the worst for Cuba since Mexico in 1968.
Since days before, and in almost every one of the national presentations, we had heard the commentators put the patch over the obvious gap, justify the deficiencies and errors, and emphasize how “pressured” some athletes seemed, despite having achieved notable results in international competitions this year.
The crushing triumphalism of other years was replaced in this edition by phrases like “it was not possible”, “he did not have enough for more”, “we know that he is a great athlete, but today he is not having his best day” and other such phrases, as if sport were not a matter of losing and winning, making fans feel, on several occasions, that the Cuban competitors were a great disappointment.
After more than half a century finishing among the top 20 in the medal table, Cuba landed in 32nd place with two gold medals, one silver and six bronze medals, all very worthy, but that does not mean we should ignore how much professional sport has declined in the largest of the Antilles, nor the uselessness of what has been said and done – more words than actions, really – in recent years to try to reverse the situation.
Added to the poor result, during the welcome ceremony at the José Martí International Airport, after a 10-hour flight and cooked by the merciless August heat, the athletes had to listen, once again, to the refrain of the “blockade” and “imperialist aggressions”, as well as the late and useless recognition that we have problems, and the need to promote the practice of sport from the grassroots.
Repeating the same speech, completely out of touch with reality, is the primary reason for this 32nd place in the medal table. The base is full of conflicts that must be resolved before considering the possibility of a child aspiring to be a high-performance athlete. We only have to refer to photos of the houses where several of the minors who participated in the 60th edition of the National School Games held last July live. With these living conditions, the poor food and the superhuman effort required to build a future in sport on the Island, it is inconceivable to talk about support, incentives and hopes for Cuban sport.
The event was marked by the lack of basic logistics to guarantee accommodation, food and transportation for the schoolchildren. If the competition was like this, it is not difficult to imagine the state of the facilities where the future of Cuban sport is being formed. It is enough to observe the degree of deterioration exhibited by centers such as the “Marcelo Salado” Swimming School, the “José María Pérez Capote” Sports Complex – known as “El Pontón” – or the “José Martí” Sports Park.
The deplorable condition of these and other sports centres, including the Schools for Initiation in Sports (EIDE), attest to the importance of stimulating the development of talent in a country that continues to invest millions of dollars in hotels that remain empty.
No Cuban was surprised by the sad result of the national delegation in ParisIt is the logical consequence of years of indolence, voluntarism, lack of understanding, contempt and abuse towards athletes, to which has been added the exodus of more than 100 high-performance athletes in recent years. Who did the authorities intend to fool with such a welcome speech?
Behind the spokesman who poorly read the prepared pamphlet, Miguel Diaz-Canel He moved from one side to the other like a snack. It seems that he did not want to be standing there, without air conditioning and listening to the same words that no longer mean anything to anyone. Cuban sport will get worse. In Los Angeles 2028, there will be no guarantee of a gold medal, as was the case for Mijaín López, and the “desertions” will not stop.
The truly bright future is far from the control of the INDERThis was understood by Cuban athletes who climbed onto the podium or achieved impressive results in Paris competing under other flags, after having broken ties with the organization that exploited them, punished them and, in some cases, was on the verge of ruining their careers thanks to the failure, also, of Cuban sports medicine.
With a game at La Piragua, the regime celebrated the return to the era of Olympic bronze medals. In four years, it is very likely that we will not even be able to celebrate the return of the athletes.
OPINION ARTICLE
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