Ángel Fournier Rodríguez

He was born in the municipality of Caimanera in the province of Guantánamo. From a very early age he began practicing sports. He played basketball and baseball and participated in provincial competitions.

He was selected to enter the Rafael Freyre School of Sports Initiation in the 2000-2001 school year and entered the Caimanera Naval Academy in the discipline of rowing, participating in the National School Games in which he obtained a bronze medal in the double pair (2x) category for ages 13-14.

Selected as an "athlete with potential" by the National Rowing Commission at the 2003-2004 National School Games where he won a silver medal in the single (1x); he underwent the Rowing Ergometry test, obtaining a time of 6.4503 (very good for his 16 years) for which he was "pre-selected" for the national rowing team.

Sports Career
2005 - 2008
Ángel Fournier began to fulfill his aptitudes for rowing during the 2004 ALBA Sports Games, when, still a youth, he won a silver medal.

His results in this category led him to represent the largest of the Antilles in the Junior World Championship in Germany, where, in the A final, he placed in sixth position. Upon returning to Cuba he immediately joined the National Rowing Selection.

2009 - 2012
In 2011 he became a Pan American champion by winning the gold medal in the short pair of oars during the Games held in Guadalajara, Mexico and the following year he would place sixth in the single during the World Championship.

He closed 2012 with two gold medals at the National Championship (Single and the Fourth Pair) and a bronze medal in the World Cup.

2013 - 2016
He began 2013 by winning a bronze medal in the single category, open category, in the World Cup held in Lucerne, Switzerland with a time of 6:44.24; a medal that he would improve in color by winning silver at the World Championship in Chungju, South Korea with a time of 6:48.91 and only surpassed by Czech Ondrei Syne.

The following year he would win a bronze in the World Cup in Aiguebelette, France, with a record of 6:58.360 minutes and a bronze in the open weight single at the World Championship held in Amsterdam, Holland, with a record of (6:44.310).

The first stop of the World Cup in 2015 (Bled, Slovenia), would demonstrate his excellent form by winning the gold medal in the single, open weight, with a time of 6:49.740 minutes, accompanied by Croatian Damir Martin (6:50.990) and Swiss Markus Kessler (7:03:740), in that order.

Thus he arrived at the Toronto Pan Americans in which he won gold in the double sculls category with a time of 6:30.35 in a pair with Eduardo Rubio. where he also obtained gold again in the short pair of oars with a time of 7:51.39 minutes ahead of Rob Gibson (7:57.94), Olympic and world medalist who was part of the eight boats.

In 2016 he would win a silver medal in the open weight single at the first stop of the World Cups, held in the Italian city of Varese, Italy, following Croatian Damir Martín (7:10.230) and seconded by Belgian Hannes Obreno (7:17.380).

His debut at the XXXI Olympic Games, on August 6, was convincing as he managed to qualify for the quarterfinals in the short pair of oars category with a time of 7:06.89. On August 13, a tactical error in the Cuban single rower's race left him in sixth place in the A final of the rowing tournament of these games.

2017 - 2020
In June 2017 he competed in the World Cup, held on Lake Malta in the city of Poznan, Poland, in which he finished in silver (6:38.670) after being surpassed by New Zealander Robert Manson. The following month, he would take part in another stop of the same event in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he would again be surpassed on the podium by Mason himself, who stopped the clocks at 6:49.080, leaving Fournier (6:52.940) behind.

Thus he arrived at the most important competition of that year, the World Championship, in Sarasota-Bradenton, in which he won a silver medal in the open category men's single scull (M1x). When interviewed after the competition he stated:

"I want to dedicate this medal to my mother, to my daughter who was born this year and is my strength, and to my wife Yusmari Mengana"

After a long time away from competitions and with only two months of training, he managed to win a bronze medal in the World Rowing Cup, held on Lake Malta in the Polish city of Poznan. Fournier made 7:24.790 minutes in the final of the open weight single (1x) at the 2,000-meter distance, surpassed by Danish Nielsen Sverri (7:21.960), fourth in the world in 2017, and Belarusian Pilip Pavukou (7:24.100). Fournier took bronze in the World Rowing Cup.

He represented Cuba at the XVIII Pan American Games in Lima 2019 in which he obtained a gold medal in a short pair of oars, with a time of 6:51.10.

The following month he would compete in the World Rowing Championship, in the Austrian city of Linz Ottensheim. There he would not manage to reach the semifinals and would be left without the possibility of reaching the ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Awards and Recognition
Selected by the Municipal Sports Department as the best athlete of the year, 2004-2005 school year.
In the 2005-2006 school year he was selected as the rookie athlete of the year by the National Rowing Commission.
By the Municipal Department of his municipality he was selected as the best youth athlete.
2006-2007 he is awarded as the youngest athlete of the event at the ALBA Sports Games.
Selected this year 2012 as the best athlete of Guantánamo province along with fellow rower Yariulvis Cobas García.
Chosen by the Circle of Sports Journalists together with the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation among the ten most outstanding athletes of 2013 in Cuba.
Selected by the Circle of Sports Chroniclers of the UPEC and INDER among the ten best athletes of 2014.
Chosen again by the survey organized by INDER and the specialized press among the 10 most outstanding athletes of 2015 in Cuba.
Selected among the 10 most outstanding athletes of 2016 in Guantánamo.
Chosen in the annual INDER voting and the specialized press among the 10 athletes of 2017 in Cuba.
Selected among the ten most outstanding athletes of 2018 in his province.
Chosen among the ten best athletes of 2019 in Guantánamo province.