Ninety
of the 100 best athletes emerged after the triumph of the Revolution
Speech made by President Fidel
Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, at a celebration honoring the
20th century’s best athletes held at Sports City’s Coliseum on March 2, 2001,
Year of the Victorious Revolution in the New Millennium
(Translation of the transcript of the
Council of State)
Dear athletes, families and guests:
We have experienced an exciting time with
the ceremony recognizing the century’s 100 best athletes, in which we have presented
the honors to the families of those who are no longer among us. A few minutes ago we also
saw the presentation of honors and recognition to the three most outstanding athletes in
our country’s history.
I wasn’t scheduled to give these few
brief words this afternoon; however, I have been asked to make this speech and will do so
with the maximum brevity possible.
While this event was taking place, I was
meditating on the fact that we are recognizing the 100 best athletes according to the
votes cast by 300,000 fans and experts, but we can’t forget the rest of the long list
of great sportspeople, which contains many extremely good athletes well remembered by our
people, who are such big sports aficionados. But when we speak of the century’s 100
most outstanding athletes, among that 100, only 10 were outstanding before the Revolution
and that was something extremely meritorious under those conditions where there were
practically no sports in Cuba; on the other hand, 90 of those 100 are athletes who emerged
after the triumph of the Revolution.
It wasn’t precisely in the year 1959,
in 1960 or in 1961, when we—besieged, blockaded, attacked and invaded—began to
win the first medals, but 10 years later, when Cuban sports began to shine through with
tremendous strength, producing the first fruits of those hard times. So we can say that on
a practical level we are not recognizing the century’s athletes, but those who began
to win competitions barely 30 years ago.
Two months have now passed since the
beginning of a new century and a new millennium. Of course, rather than looking into the
past, we must speak about the century that has started and from this point onwards we can
imagine how many medals we are going to win over the next 100 years.
51 GOLD MEDALS AFTER 1959; ONLY SIX IN
NEOCOLONIAL ERA
To put it in a graphic form, one must take
into account that since the founding of what was called the independent republic in 1902,
which was nothing more than a neocolony of the United States, up until the triumph of the
Revolution, our country had won only six Olympic gold medals and four of those were won by
the same athlete. In the years following the triumph of the Revolution, our country has
won 51 gold medals, despite the fact we didn’t participate in two Olympiads.
In the Pan American Games, in which we have
participated without exception, we won 10 gold medals before 1959 and after the
Revolution’s triumph we have won 639. That means we have won approximately 63 times
more gold medals.
In the Central American Games—where on
occasions we have taken part only because we threatened to take to the ocean, as happened
over there in Puerto Rico, when we had to take to the ocean in order to arrive at the
coast, compete and win well-deserved medals—in all the Games before the Revolution we
had won 181 gold medals, while in the years following the triumph, the 30 years of which I
spoke, we have won 1,311 gold medals.
Adding them all together, we won 197 gold
medals previously, while after the Revolution’s victory we have won 2,001 gold medals
in those three events. Of course, I’m not including in this list of numerous gold,
silver and bronze medals those that have been won in world championships, international
cups and Grand Prix events, which I believe means great prize, we should have added them
all up to a grand total. However, taking the Central American, Pan American and Olympic
Games all together, we won 531 medals of the three colors before the Revolution and 3,893
after the Revolution.
And what did we have when we started out?
Nothing.
Compare what we see here today, compare this
public made up of young people from different sports and educational fields. Present here
are approximately 200 students from the recently inaugurated International Sports School
(APPLAUSE); there is a numerous contingent of Camilo Cienfuegos Military Academy and the
armed forces students (APPLAUSE); I also see here the shirts that distinguish the
officials and members who study in order to guarantee internal order (APPLAUSE); I believe
there are sailors and other armed forces officials over there (APPLAUSE); over there I can
see a numerous group of athletes, I wouldn’t dare to say which school they are from.
Here we also see hundreds of sports and physical education students with their families
(APPLAUSE); we see retired athletes or young sportspeople, we see fans; but we see much
more that cannot be appreciated from this vantage point, the more than 30,000 sports and
physical education teachers who work with the National Institute of Sports, Physical
Education and Recreation (APPLAUSE) of those 37,000 who have graduated from higher
education.
We are able to think about the 14, or rather
15 if we count the special municipality of the Isle of Youth, EIDE basic sports schools
and the 14 ESPA advanced sports schools, where more than 20,000 young people study;
additionally, there are 14 higher education centers for the training of sports and
physical education teachers. We are going to rejuvenate and reunify those
schools—I’m referring here to the sports and physical education schools—and
create a capacity for 10,000 students in the higher learning centers of that sector.
That’s apart from some schools for intermediate-level trainers and specialists. Each
year around 2,500 students will begin higher-level studies to become sports and physical
education teachers, and in this way our army of specialists will be enriched.
What was there during those first days of
1959, when there was only a scattered handful of sports and physical education teachers,
when not one of these schools I have mentioned existed? That is how we are beginning this
century and the medals won’t be counted by the thousands, they will be counted by the
tens of thousands; instead of choosing the 100 best, we will have to choose at least the
1,000 best athletes of the century that is just beginning, and I think we will be able to
gold plate this coliseum where we are today, I say that with the utmost conviction. At the
same time, we are also very certain that other peoples will follow Cuba’s example and
I hope we can share with them many of the medals we could theoretically win.
Furthermore, we have to wrest medals away
from those who, having colonized and plundered our countries, today concentrate on buying
athletes from Third World countries that don’t have the trainers, the teachers or the
sports installations.
The young people present here from around 50
countries will have the sacred mission of struggling for the development of sports in
their respective countries, because, as was said on the day that school was inaugurated,
sports represent well-being, a standard of living, health, happiness and honor for the
peoples, and perhaps they are the most efficient instrument in the fight against criminal
tendencies, against narcotics and the other vices gripping modern societies (APPLAUSE).
We are extremely gratified to see how
affectionately you have honored those who have bathed our country in such glory; thanks to
whom our national flag has been raised on the highest part of the podium more than 2,000
times, not counting the times it has been raised in competitions which, as we said, were
not part of the Olympics, the Pan American Games or the Central American Games.
We are extremely gratified that our people
understand the value of this noble and healthy activity.
We are gratified to think that we are
starting this century with thousands of sports installations, although we need more; that
we are starting this century with one and a half million citizens who regularly play
sports or take physical education under instruction from specialists; with more than two
million children, adolescents and young people who have physical education and sports
teachers and who have more each year; with senior citizens, pregnant women and other
categories of people for whom sports or physical exercise represent health and the
prolongation of life. Wherever we look, we feel satisfaction with the work that has been
done for our people during the revolutionary era.
ALMOST 8,000 SPORTS SPECILAISTS HAVE
WORKED IN SCORES OF COUNTRIES
We are also gratified to affirm that almost
8,000 sports specilaists have worked in scores of countries whose athletes on occasion
have competed and been victorious over our athletes. For that reason, those of use who
have had the privilege of being here will never forget what we have expereienced today.
Thank you to our athletes, a thousand
thanks! (APPLAUSE).
Let’s improve our knowledge! Let’s
improve our instructors’ experience and expertise!
Let’s make our schools better!
Let’s go on being an example to the
millions of human beings who live in the Third World, many of whom have never seen their
flag flown at an international competition!
Let’s go on supporting our Third World
brothers and sisters and continue showing the powerful and the rich that there are things
that are superior to money and superior to luxury: the example radiating from a country
that has known how to resist a 42-year blockade and 10 years of special period! And as if
what our heroic people have demonstrated were not sufficient, there will doubtlessly be
that which we propose for the coming years, starting from this very moment.
Please excuse me for not speaking further,
but I have an unavoidable commitment. I have to meet with several hundred Venezuelan
students who are visiting our country. For that reason, I conclude my speech and give you
a piece of good news.
The group Moncada will be back once again to
entertain you this afternoon.
Long live sports! (SHOUTS OF
"VIVA").
Long live internationalism! (SHOUTS OF
"VIVA").
Patria o Muerte!
Venceremos!
(OVATION)
|
