Estela Rodríguez Villanueva

Retired athlete from the judo specialty, with an excellent track record in sports, both in national and international events. World champion and Olympic runner-up on two occasions. Glory of Cuban sports.

She was born in the town of Palma Soriano, in the province of Santiago de Cuba. She began in sports practicing basketball, as with her almost two meters in height and her 80 kilograms of weight she was the ideal center in her school team. At seventeen years old, already enrolled in the Superior School of Athletic Development (ESPA) of her territory, she decided to switch to judo with trainer Roberto Lewis.

In 1985 she participated in the National Youth Championship, in which she finished with a bronze medal. From that first success she was chosen to be part of the national pre-selection in the heavyweight category, under the guidance of the renowned coach Ronaldo Veitía. At that time women's judo was officially beginning in Cuba, which had held its first national senior championship two years earlier at the Vicente Ponce Carrasco sports center in the capital.

In 1989, she was at the height of her athletic career. She dominated once again her division (over 72 kilograms) in the national championship.

Cuban judokas made their debut at the X Pan American Games Indianapolis 1987, in the United States. Although that sport had already had its debut for women at the Caracas, Venezuela event in 1983. Estela was part of the Cuban team and won two medals: silver in the open division, and bronze in the over 72 kilograms division.

In 1983 she became the first Cuban to attend a World Championship, which took place in the city of Essen, German Democratic Republic, in which she finished in seventh place. There she showed magnificent qualities on the tatami, despite competing while several weeks pregnant.

She won in several events in Europe, including the Belgrade World Championship, in the heavyweight and open divisions. In the first she finished in fifth place, but in the open she won the gold medal. She achieved very convincing victories against Japanese Yoko Tanabe, and for the highest honor against British Sharon Lee. This was her first major success at the world level. In 1988 she was chosen among the ten best athletes of the year in Cuba, as well as in 1991 and 1992.

She won two gold medals at the Havana 1991 Pan American Games and was chosen as the most outstanding judoka.

At the Barcelona World Championship, Spain, she won another medal, this time silver, in the heavyweight category, after losing to Chinese Yiaoyan Ihuang in the absolute category. But she had to settle for fifth place in her division (over 72 kilograms), after falling by ippón (full point), just three seconds from the end, against Polish Beata Maksymowa. And at the Fukuoka Cup in Japan, she also finished in second place.

Months before her first Olympic Games in 1992, she confirmed her dominance at the Pan American Championship, finished second at the World Cup and reclaimed the throne at the Fukuoka Cup, in addition to winning the Cuban championship and the international Golden Judokas tournament, also in her country.

At the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, Spain did not have a favorable draw, but she managed to advance, opening by ippón against the world bronze medalist, Beata Maksymowa, to get revenge for what happened at the 1991 World Championship. In the same way she defeated the experienced Thai Suyita Yompakdee, to reach the semifinals. In that phase she faced French Natalie Lupino -winner of a bronze medal at the previous world event- in a close match that was decided in her favor by yuko (half point). In the final match for the gold medal she could not defeat the Chinese representative, Xiaoyang Zhuang, who won by ippón, becoming the first Olympic medalist in the history of Cuban judo.

At the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. With that objective in mind she faced the following Olympic cycle, dedicating herself to training and giving her best in each competition, whether in Cuba or abroad. She increased her world medal count with bronze in Hamilton, Canada in 1993, and also achieved a first place and a third at the Fukuoka Cups. In 1995 she was not selected to attend the Pan American Sports Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina. By that time the young Dayma Beltrán was emerging, her main rival in Cuba and her subsequent replacement, who was responsible for participating in the continental event, in which she won the gold medal. She also did not participate in the World Championship in Chiba, Japan, nor in the University World Games, both in 1995. But this did not discourage her; on the contrary, she continued intensely her preparation at the Cerro Pelado training center in the Cuban capital.

In 1996, the year of the Centennial Olympic Games, the Cuban judo technical staff selected her, winning the silver medal. In the first match she won by ippón against Indian Shah Coolí. She then passed over South Korean Hyun Me Shun by wazzari (three-quarter point). In the quarterfinals she defeated Canadian Nancy Filteau by ippón, and in her attempt to reach the final she defeated Polish Maksymowa, also by the maximum score. In the final she was defeated by Chinese Fuming Sun by yuko.

Her main rival throughout her athletic career was Polish Maksymowa, although she was able to beat her several times, because being left-handed, like her, it was very difficult for her to get in to begin a throw.

Best Results

1987 Indianapolis Pan American Games (72 Kg Heavyweight) United States 3rd
1987 Pan American Games (Open) Indianapolis United States 2nd
1987 World Championship (Open), Essen, Germany 7th
1989 World Championship (Open), Belgrade, Yugoslavia 1st
1989 World Championship (72 kg Heavyweight) Belgrade, Yugoslavia 5th
1991 World Championship (Open), Barcelona, Spain 2nd
1991 World Championship (72 kg Heavyweight), Barcelona, Spain 5th
1991 Pan American Games (Open), Havana, Cuba 1st
1991 Pan American Games (72 Kg Heavyweight), Havana, Cuba 1st
1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain 2nd
1995 World Championship (Open), Tokyo, Japan 3rd
1996 Olympic Games, Atlanta, United States 2nd
1996 Three Towers Tournament, Corridonia, Italy 1st
2001 Bank Cup Tournament-A, Budapest, Hungary 1st
2001 Grand Prix Rotterdam, Netherlands 1st
2001 International Tournament of Niort, France 2nd
2001 International Golden Judokas Tournament, Havana, Cuba 1st

In addition to other honors that earned her selection among the one hundred best athletes of Cuba in the twentieth century.

Retirement
She retired from active sports to become a sports coach for athletes of the Cuban national pre-selection.

She was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Pan American Judo Union, a place reserved only for the best athletes of the discipline.

On January 20, 2013 she participated alongside Alberto Juantorena in the inauguration of an exhibition at the sports pavilion of Expocuba named "Sample of Champions of the People," which provides information on Sports in Cuba from 1959 onwards.