Ismael Borrero Molina

Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler competing in the 67 kg division. On the mat, he pushes everyone into the abyss with frightening ease. A back throw, an imbalance, a projection, hermetic defense… another back throw, another imbalance, another projection and no one can move him.

Son of Ismael Borrero and Maira Molina, he is the second of three siblings, two boys and one girl. He began developing his athletic skills as a child at the "Manuel Ascunce Domenech" Primary School. He first tried weightlifting at twelve years of age, but immediately switched to Greco-Roman wrestling.

In the lower categories he was a medalist at all levels: silver in the 2001 Provincial Pioneer Games and first place in provincial and municipal competitions; in 2002 he began at the Sports Initiation School EIDE and obtained first place at municipal and provincial level; in 2003 he finished fifth in the Copa Ramón Real Fuentes held in Holguín and won silver in the National School Games; in 2004 he won the gold medal in the Copa Tinajón held in Camagüey, in the Copa Yagua in Santi Spíritus and in the Student League held in Ciego de Ávila.

After winning gold in 2005 during the National School Games, he was recruited to enter the Sports School for Athletic Perfection, National ESPA and in 2006 he would win the Youth Games held in Camagüey, a result he would repeat the following year in Sancti Spíritus.

Sports Career
2009 - 2012: In 2010 he defeated all his rivals in the National Championship of the first category and won the gold medal. That year he would win another gold medal at the Champions Gala held in the city of Matanzas and finished fifth in the Cuban Sports Olympiad.

After these results he would enter the Superior School for Training High-Performance Athletes Cerro Pelado and would be promoted to the national wrestling team with which he attended in 2011 a preparatory tournament in the Dominican Republic where he won the gold medal.

The following year he would win again in the National First Category Championship and would triumph in the Panamerican Championship for seniors, held in the United States and in the Youth Championship held in Guatemala. He would also repeat his victory at the Champions Gala in Havana.

2013 - 2016: In 2013 he would win again the National Championship, the Panamerican (this time in Panama) and the International Granma Tournament in Havana. Borrero would also participate in the World Championship in Hungary where he finished in 11th position.

2017 - 2020: For strategic reasons of the Cuban team he moved up to the next category in 2017. Thus, now in the 67 kg, he won the National Championship against Havanan Sean Mora and won his fourth gold medal in this competition.

He obtained the gold medal in the 67 kg category in the 2019 National Championship held in Camagüey and two months later he represented Cuba at the Pan American Games in Lima, where he won the gold medal by defeating Venezuelan Shalom Villegas with a score of 12-0.

In September of that year he won the crown for the second time in the World Wrestling Championship held in Nur Sultan (Kazakhstan), defeating Russian Artem Surkov 3-1 in the final bout.

Awards and Recognition
2010 - Selected among the best Athletes of 2010 in Santiago de Cuba.
2012 - Selected Best Rookie of 2012 in Cuba
2016 - Obtained Recognition for his performance in 2016 in the traditional voting that INDER and the Sports Journalists Circle annually conduct to select the best athletes of the year in Cuba.
2016 - Chosen together with discus thrower Yaimé Pérez as best athlete in individual sports of 2016 in Santiago de Cuba[6].
2018 - Selected among the ten most outstanding athletes of 2018 in Santiago de Cuba[7]
2019 - He was chosen by votes collected by INDER and the Sports Journalists Circle of UPEC, together with discus thrower Yaimé Pérez as the best Cuban athletes in individual sport of 2019. He obtained 108 of the 220 votes counted.