The Cuban Olympic shot put champion Yumileidy Cumbá does not believe that the island’s representatives can obtain great results in the athletics of Paris 2024. This was stated by him in an interview with the independent sports media Play Off Magazinein which she also talked about her career and her life after retiring as an active athlete.
About the situation of Cuban athletics todaythe monarch of Athens 2004 considered that she is going through “a challenging stage.”
“The results of the last two world championships have been disappointing, and we have only achieved one medal in triple jump for the Olympic Games. Hopes of achieving a significant result in the near future are slim, and athlete defections are frequent,” Cumba said.
“Athletics, along with boxing, wrestling and judo, has always been one of the emblematic sports of Cuba in the Olympic Games. These sports have elevated Cuba to high levels on the world stage. However, today, our condition is not the same as in previous years,” lamented the 49-year-old woman from Guantanamo.
“We have many young promises in athletics who still need to mature and improve. Although people have high expectations for the Olympic Games, I don’t think we are going to obtain the expected results,” he added.
Yumileidi Cumbá was not considered a candidate for medals by the Cuban sports authorities at the Athens Games, despite occupying the fifth world ranking at that time and having achieved his best mark (19.97 meters) shortly before the competition.
However, in the Greek capital the athlete gave a surprise by winning the silver medal, which later became gold, as the winner tested positive in a doping test. She did not receive the gold medal at the ceremony held in Athens, but months later during the Cuban National Baseball Series.
Only after becoming Olympic champion, Cumba began to have the presence of her coach. in core competencies.
“For many years, I attended numerous international competitions without the presence of a coach. This was because I was not considered an athlete with the possibility of obtaining outstanding results, unlike Iván Pedroso and Javier Sotomayor, who were potential medalists in any event. I was seen as a possible finalist,” Cumbá explained.
“Even at the Athens Olympics, when I won the gold medal, I didn’t have a coach. We three athletes became our own coaches. My coach was with us until 15 days before we went to Huelva to the Ibero-American Games. We trained on our own, we knew the plan and we knew what we had to do,” he stated.
The Guantanamera retired from active sports in August 2008., after the 2008 Beijing Games, which were his last Olympics. A month later she started working as a coach, but as a service provider, because she did not have a position. That situation continues to this day.
“In 2019, I went on a mission to Africa and returned in April 2023. Now I am exploring how to return to my job, although I will continue in a service provision capacity, since there is no position available,” explained Cumbá, who described his experience in Burkina Faso as “unique”.
The athletes trained by her won medals at the continental level and the remuneration she received in those years allowed her to help her family. However, she had to pay a price.
“Going on mission has a significant economic impact for us retired athletes. It also offers an opportunity for our families. However, it also means isolation from our loved ones. When I left, my daughter was 11 years old. She is 14 now. The separation was complicated, but over time he understood that it was for the best.”
“It is not only about financial help, but about the possibility of having a more comfortable life, of being able to help more and even being able to take your daughter with you to learn English or another language. In reality, you can help your family being abroad than being here, in my country.
The athlete acknowledged that the lifetime stipend that the Cuban Government began paying years ago to Olympic and world medalists It guaranteed them a higher standard of living than the rest of the population. With the implementation of the Ordering Task, those sums of money became insignificant.
“Previously, we received a salary of 300 CUC, but with the economic transformation, the CUC disappeared and that is no longer relevant. Our salary and standard of living have changed drastically since then. The life we lead today is difficult and complicated. However “We remain hopeful that the situation will improve at some point. Yes, I have faith that it will be resolved,” he said.
However, she believed that the Island’s sports institutions could help her more. “I don’t think I’ve gotten the attention I really deserve,” the Olympic champion said.
2024-05-08 03:09:59
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