Sancti Spíritus is the center of attention of sports fans these days as the venue for two events: the final championship games in the 60th National Baseball Series and a key training camp for wrestlers with their sights set on the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The first competition has come to a close, while the second, remains in the news, especially one topic: the preparation of Cuba's top man, Mijaín López (130 kg), and his prospects for winning a fourth Olympic title.
How is training going for this athlete, for whom a special program has been developed to ensure that he arrives at the main event of the year with a real chance of winning, is the main question that motivated this dialogue.
- After a successful career of so many years, doesn't training become tedious for you?
- For me, preparing every day makes me feel real good. When I stop, I don't even want to think about it.
- Which athletes help you in your training?
- I have three partners with whom I train: Oscar Pino, Keldis Joset and Angel Pacheco, the latter a very talented young man who was crowned Pan American champion in 2020.
- Who can be your successor after Tokyo?
- My successor is already present, Oscar Pino, medalist in the last three world championships. In the last event, he was able to dispute the gold.
- Beside Borrero and you, do you see anyone else with medal possibilities?
- Additionally, there are Daniel Gregorich (87 kg) and Gabriel Rosillo (97 kg). We are also going for several bronze medals, although the wrestlers from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Hungary are strong. But the strongest rivals will be the Russians, who we defeated in Rio de Janeiro-2016.
- Let's talk about the women, who do you see as having the best chances for a medal?
- I think Milaimis Marin (76 kg) has the best chance, if she is able to qualify in May, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The three-time Olympic champion concluded this brief conversation saying, “I don't want to finish without thanking all the authorities who made this training camp possible, in the midst of the pandemic, because we have a great commitment to the people of Cuba. It's onward for us, we’re going for more.”
