The Cuban former athlete Alberto Juantorena is reported as a stable critical due to complications derived from Covid-19, according to the Cuban authorities.
Juantorena, 71, is hospitalized at the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine, located in Havana.
Similarly, a note from the state media Cubadebate pointed out that Juantorena contracted Covid-19 abroad.
The designated president, Miguel Mario Díaz Canel Bermúdez, was one of those who shared the news about the two-time Olympic champion and remembered his path.
“40 years ago, when Alberto Juantorena “with his heart” and his legs had shaken #Cuba with two Olympic titles, he repeated the feat in Habana’82. Today, he and the doctors are fighting for his life and #Cuba hopes that they will also succeed. Salud, champion”, wrote the dictator on the social network Twitter.
40 years ago, when Alberto Juantorena “with his heart” and his legs, had shaken #Cuba with two Olympic titles, he repeated the feat in Habana’82. Today, he and the doctors are fighting for his life and #Cuba hope they succeed too. Health champion. pic.twitter.com/eUwVeV9SIw
– Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) August 13, 2022
For their part, medical authorities told the Cuban Institute of Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) the day before that the double Olympic champion has a history of COVID-19 acquired abroad, the result of which complications have appeared.
The former athlete has a current picture of bronchopneumonia and cardiovascular decompensation.
“Your attention is guaranteed by a multidisciplinary team,” indicates the aforementioned official media.
As Juantorena fights for her life, Cuban women’s judo coach Ronaldo Veitía Valdivié showed considerable improvement this week.
“He has already come out of the serious state in which he was, his improvement is frankly noticeable in all aspects,” Cuban journalist Julita Osendi reported on social networks, citing the words of the coach’s son, Ihosvany Ronaldo.
“He continues to show positive signs to all the stimuli that are performed on him and his neuromuscular responses are adequate. He does not have fever and all the studies carried out have given negative results to possible infectious processes. He performed a CT scan of the heart and its result was satisfactory. He is already ingesting food orally in solid and liquid form, “he said.
The update on Veitía -we clarify- corresponds to the medical part of this Wednesday night.
“Due to his positive evolution, tomorrow he will leave the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and will be transferred to the room. He is already articulating his first words, although with a certain degree of difficulty due to the strenuous days of sedation and assisted breathing. He has not presented more arrhythmias and his blood sugar levels are totally stable. Thank you for your prayers and support, “he said.
Similarly, Osendi encouraged the coach to recover. “UP PROFESSOR VEITIA!!! REMARKABLE IMPROVEMENT. So many prayers and good thoughts helped our Buddha.”
The Cuban was admitted the previous week in the intensive care room of the General University Hospital of Elda, Spanish province of Alicante.
“The Cuban Sports University endorses the concern and vigil in the face of such news. According to the Facebook profile of Professor Ronaldo Veitía Valdivié, the great Cuban educator, he is admitted to intensive care, his condition is serious and he is in in a coma, sedated and on assisted breathing,” the institution said on Facebook last Saturday.
