Wrestling legend Lopez calls for Cuban sport to 'open up' to the world / Photo: © AFP/File
-
Comet returns as online electrical marketplace 14 years after collapse
-
Retired Man Loses Money on Holiday Home as Market Stalls
-
Aston Villa Defy History With Rare Victory at Old Trafford
-
Govt to Accept ECMS Applications on Rolling Basis from July 2027
-
Democrats Face Criticism Over Social Security Reform Plans Amid Trust Fund Crisis
-
Opti Digital Launches NEXA, an AI-Powered Intelligence Layer
-
Stabbing Reported at Jamie Foxx’s Annual Halloween Party in Thousand Oaks
-
Nick Harkaway Expands John le Carré’s Spy Universe in 'The Taper Man'
-
Binance CFO Kaiser Ng Departs Amid Aftermath of $6.3 Billion Hack
Wrestling legend Lopez calls for Cuban sport to 'open up' to the world
Legendary Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez, the only athlete to have won five consecutive individual Olympic golds, called Thursday for Cuban sport to "open up" to the world to help it recover its lost glory.
In an interview with AFP in Sao Paulo, Lopez, 43, said sport on the communist-run island was "going through a very difficult time" and needed to embrace sponsorship to retain talent.
"International sport is a business. In sports, there are sponsors...and that development hasn't reached Cuba," Lopez said at the COB Expo, a fair organized by the Brazilian Olympic Committee.
"There needs to be a change," he said, in unusually candid remarks for a Cuban athlete.
A traditional powerhouse of Latin American sport, Cuba fared poorly at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Its tally of two gold medals, one silver, and six bronze medals was its lowest since its return to the athletics extravaganza in Barcelona in 1992 after boycotting the Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 editions.
Barcelona was where Team Cuba peaked, bringing home 14 gold, six silver and 11 bronze medals.
"We've lost a lot of talent," Lopez said, citing defections from the island and deteriorating conditions at training centers as contributing factors.
H.Seidel--BTB
