Holguín athletes: The first 20 on the historical list
- Written by Calixto González Betancourt
- Published in Sports
- Hits: 1597
Mario César Kindelán Mesa / boxing (60 kilos). Photos: Archive
The eastern province of Holguín has always been the cradle of great athletes, but before 1959 most of the competitors in this region could not display all their qualities, due to the lacking of support from the governments of the day and the minimal attention or underestimation of the sports authorities of the country.
With the triumph of the Revolution came a new era of achievements, with the Commander in Chief Fidel Castro as the main promoter of Cuban sports.
The constitution of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation, on February 23, 1961 not only instituted these important activities, but also made it possible to turn this nation into a world sports power.
Thus, along with popular training, the champions emerged and the successes of the athletes of the Caribbean nation multiplied in foreign championships.
After this Holguín could have, among many achievements, medalists in international official events, whose top 20, in my opinion, we placed for the first time in a historical ranking, as a tribute to the 60th anniversary of Inder and taking into account the Olympic and world podiums, without exclusions for other reasons, or differentiation by sex and type of discipline.
Mentions: Isam Ortiz / chess (silver as fourth board in Olympiad of his discipline), Jacinto Blanco / baseball (pitcher, gold in World Series), Liliana Allen / athletics (runner, bronze in indoor world championship), Yamilet Martínez / basketball ( world bronze), Yaimara del Rosario / taekwondo (world bronze), Ismaray Marrero / rowing (gold in the World Cup), Aroldis Chapman / baseball (world runner-up), Sonallis Mayán / taekwondo (gold in the World Cup) and Ana Luisa Hourrutinier / volleyball (world silver and World Cup).
