{"id":5000,"date":"2021-08-06T21:41:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T21:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=5000"},"modified":"2021-08-06T21:41:41","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T21:41:41","slug":"cuba-is-putting-its-heart-into-the-olympic-games-in-tokyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cuba-is-putting-its-heart-into-the-olympic-games-in-tokyo\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba Is Putting Its Heart into the Olympic Games in Tokyo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When dawn broke this morning on the fourteenth day of the Olympic Games, Cuba was in 15th place in the Tokyo medal standings. It is admirable and not fortuitous that the small island of only 11 million people is 15th among the 204 countries attending the world games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the talented athletes who represent the Cuban flag in Japan trained and sacrificed to represent their country. The passion they exhibit on the field, including those who have not won medals, moves us here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuba will not forget the tears of young Juan Miguel Echevarr\u00eda, who was hampered by a femoral bicep injury that prevented him from jumping for the sixth time during the final competition on August 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He knelt just above the takeoff board and hit the ground with his fists. \u201cI cried, but not from the joy of the silver medal, but from the pain of losing the gold,\u201d he told the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The island will also not forget the joy on the face of four-time Olympic champion Mija\u00edn L\u00f3pez when he defeated his rival Iakob Kadzhaia in Greco-Roman wrestling on August 2. All of Cuba was awake at 4am local time to watch the match of the irreducible Cuban giant, who won with little effort and became the best wrestler in the history of this sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m just doing my job,\u201d Mija\u00edn said minutes after the victory as if he had not just accomplished this tremendous feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am fulfilling what I learned, what I was taught by my ancestors, my parents, my children, my grandparents\u2026 No matter how great you are, humility will always be greater than virtue,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then on August 2, a photo was taken by a Cuban photographer that took Cuba by storm: the legendary Mija\u00edn L\u00f3pez carrying Luis Alberto Orta, who also won the gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, just 30 minutes apart. A Cuban flag was shining brightly between the two of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athletes have not only gone to Japan to leave their hearts, but they have also gone to defend their country from any provocation or expression of hatred. This was the case of young boxer Julio Cesar la Cruz, who faced Cuban-Spanish Enmanuel Reyes during the most awaited fight of July 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fight occurred shortly after Reyes, who was representing the Spanish flag in the ring, threatened to \u201ctear off the head\u201d of his opponent, regardless of the fact that both were born in the same country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will be the first person to shout \u2018Patria y Vida\u2019 (Homeland and Life) in the Olympics,\u201d he added, alluding to the song that has allegedly become the anthem of the Cuban right-wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Cruz won after beating Reyes in the first and third rounds. Before getting out of the ring, he shouted at the top of his lungs, \u201cHomeland and Life, no. Homeland or Death. We will prevail,\u201d in honor of Cuba\u2019s historic leader Fidel Castro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only have the athletes given their all in these Olympic Games. The sports reporters have also been heroes, and they have served as a bridge between Cubans and the emotions experienced in Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Cuban will forget journalist Renier Gonzalez\u2019s narration of the 1,000-meter double canoe race, in which the Cubans Serguey Torres and Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez won the gold medal by a mere 0.2 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the final-seconds of the battle between the Chinese canoe and the Cuban canoe, Gonzalez fired off words as he sat up and stood from his seat; \u201cHere comes the Cuban canoe, here comes the Chinese canoe\u2026 Seguey, Dayan. Come on, let\u2019s all paddle, Cubans. Come on. We will have a medal. China, Cuba, Cuba. Gold medal for Cuba! The Cuban canoe is gold!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuban President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, who has called each medalist after every victory, could not contain his emotion as he congratulated Torres and Fernando Day\u00e1n. \u201cThe final seconds were electrifying. You rowed your hearts out,\u201d he told them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feat of this small Caribbean island in Tokyo has been historic. The athletes are holding Cuba\u2019s name up high amid the most difficult conditions. The country is fighting against a seemingly unstoppable pandemic while media attacks are gaining strength, and food and medicine shortages persist. However, Cuba perceives the Tokyo Olympics as a shining example of the resistance of the Cuban people to hatred, to adversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Resumen Latinoamericano<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When dawn broke this morning on the fourteenth day of the Olympic Games, Cuba was in 15th place in the Tokyo medal standings. It is […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101011,"featured_media":5001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5015,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cuban-ranks-fourteenth-among-nations-on-the-medal-chart\/","url_meta":{"origin":5000,"position":0},"title":"Cuban ranks fourteenth among nations on the medal chart!","author":"Editorial Team","date":"August 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A record 93 nations made it onto the medal chart, and an unprecedented number of 65 won a gold, while over 22% of the Cuban team\u2019s members are bringing a medal home Cuba rose to the challenge. 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