Ana Fidelia Quirot Moret

Cuban athlete specialized in 400 and 800 meter flat track and field races. She was an Olympic bronze medalist, world and panamerican champion, and two-time World Cup champion.

She was born in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba. At sixteen years old her talent was discovered, although from a very early age she had to test an iron will, having been rejected by some coaches and trainers who did not see athletic aptitude in her. At twenty years old she joined Cuba's main track and field team.

On April 13, 1985 she participated in her first international competition. In September 1986 she won gold medals in the 400 and 800 meter races during the Second Ibero-American Athletics Championships, held in Havana. From that point on, her successes were continuous. She won 39 consecutive 800 meter races between 1987 and 1990, and fifteen 400 meter races in 1990. During 1989 she achieved titles in the World Cup in 400 and 800 meters, for which she was awarded as the best female athlete at the world level.

She was favored to win at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but the Cuban Olympic Committee's withdrawal from those games prevented her from becoming Olympic champion. However, in various international meets she defeated all finalists in the 400 meter race. Additionally, she won medals at five Grand Prix events in the double lap around the oval (800 meters) between 1987 and 1990.

The Pan American Games also saw the then-called "Caribbean Storm" shine, for in Indianapolis in 1987 and Havana in 1991 she achieved gold medals in 400 and 800 meters, which was repeated at the Central American Games in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, in 1986, and in 1990 in Mexico City. She reached her peak at the Fifth World Athletics Cup, held in Barcelona, Spain, in 1989, in which she won the 800 meter race with a time of 1:54.44, the best in the history of this discipline; she also obtained two other gold medals in the 400 meter race and as a member of the Americas long relay. She was second in 800 meters at the World Championship held in Tokyo in 1991.

Her first participation in Summer Olympic Games occurred on August 3, 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, in which she finished in third place in the 800 meter race, with a time of 1:56.80. Additionally, she was part of the Cuban quartet in the 4 x 400 relay.

Her career, although marked by success, suffered obstacles that seemed insurmountable. First the death of Blas Beato, the man who refined all her qualities and brought her to the top. Then, in 1993, a domestic accident that almost cost her her life and endangered her career development, as she suffered burns over 70% of her body. It was thought that, having undergone more than twenty reconstructive surgery procedures, the "Caribbean Storm" would not be able to return to sports. But the successes of Cuban medicine and her iron will meant that, just a few months after the accident, she returned to training. Then, still in the recovery process, she obtained a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1993.

The surprise was even greater when she achieved an impressive victory over renowned rivals at the World Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1995, with a time of 1:56.11. From that point on she began to train intensely. Her case is unusual in sports history, as after her accident she was twice world champion: in Sweden and later in Greece.

In that way, she continued her preparation toward the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, with the objective of surpassing her performance from 1992 in Barcelona, but she could not avoid the strong final kick of Russian Svetlana Masterkova and won the silver medal.

Another great success would come the following year at the World Track and Field Championship in Athens, Greece, where she won the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.14. This would be her last and greatest triumph in the international arena.

In the memory of many remain her disputes with prominent figures of world athletics, in many cases Olympic and world champions such as Jarmila Kratosvilova, Christine Watchel, Sigrum Wodar, Lilia Nurutdinova, Maria de Lourdes Mutola, and Svetlana Masterkova, against whom she won and lost in multiple international athletics competitions.

The prestigious news agency Prensa Latina, in accordance with the voting of multiple press media in the world, has granted her the Award for Best Female Athlete of Latin America and the Caribbean in 1989, 1991, 1995, and 1997.

At the present time, Ana Fidelia Quirot, now retired from active sport, still takes part in veterans events and helps develop athletics in Cuba. She is invited to international events and participates as an adviser to Cuban athletes competing. Additionally, she holds a degree in Physical Culture and Sports.