Joel Lamela Luaces

Cuban runner. He was part of the 4x100 m relay team that won a bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992. He won gold medals in the 4x100 m relay at the Pan American Games, Havana, 1991 and at Mar del Plata, 1995.

He was born in the town of Lugareño, which belongs to the municipality of Minas, located northeast of the city of Camagüey and about 30 kilometers away from it.

Lamela began his work in athletics in the jumping disciplines, specifically in the pole vault, a specialty in which he was promoted to the national youth team in 1987. A year later, he withdrew from the National Athletic Improvement School and returned to Camagüey where he began training speed events with coach Reinaldo Pulido.

In 1989 he qualified for the Pan American Youth Championship held in Santa Fe, Argentina, where he won three medals and was again promoted to the national youth team.

In 1990 he was the leading figure in youth sprinting in Cuba and as such he participated in the Central American Championship in Havana, where he earned his qualification for the World Youth Championship in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Due to the results obtained in these events, he became part of the national team that same year.

In 1991, he participates in the IX Pan American Games in Havana, as a member of the 4 x 100 meter relay, winner of the gold medal. That same year he attends the World Championship in Tokyo, Japan; he also takes part in the world championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1995, the XII Pan American Games Mar del Plata 1995, where he repeated the gold medal as a member of the 4x100 relay, as well as at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, 1996.

His full achievement occurred during the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, Spain, where as a member of the Cuban 4 x 100 relay, they achieved a time of 38.00 seconds, winning the bronze medal along with Andrés Simón, Joel Isasi and Jorge Luis Aguilera, also breaking the long-standing record of 38.40, set in Mexico 1968, which lasted almost 24 years.

Despite not being a sprinter with great records, he did have a powerful sprint as a flying runner, with him running the north stretch, to which he applied his powerful sprint.

Sports Results
1989
Pan American Youth Games, Santa Fe, Argentina, silver in 100m and time 10.88, bronze in 200m and 4x400 with times of 21.50 and 3:14.06
1990
World Youth Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, eighth place in 4x100 with a time of 40.25
Central American and Caribbean Youth Championships, Havana, Cuba, gold in 4x100 with a time of 40.62, bronze in 100m with a time of 10.61 and fourth place in 200m with a time of 21.56
1991
Pan American Games, Havana, Cuba, gold in 4x100m with a time of 39.08
1992
Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain, bronze in 4x100m with a time of 38.00, which is a national record
World Cup, Havana, Cuba, silver in 4x100 with a time of 38.51
Ibero-American Championship, Seville, Spain, silver in 200m with a time of 21.12 and gold in 4x100m with 39.19
1993
Universiade, Buffalo, United States of America, bronze in 4x100 with a time of 39.20
1994
Goodwill Games, Saint Petersburg, Russia, silver in 4x100m with a time of 38.76
Championship, Ibero-American, Mar del Plata, Argentina in 4x100m with a time of 39.99
1995
Pan American Games, Mar del Plata, Argentina, gold in 4x100m with a time of 38.67
Central American and Caribbean Championships, Guatemala City, Guatemala, gold in 4x100m with a time of 39.07
1996
Olympic Games, Atlanta, United States of America, 6th place in 4x100m with a time of 39.39
Ibero-American Championship, Medellín, Colombia 1996 in 200m Disqualified

Best Personal Times
100m - 10.33 - Caracas, Venezuela, June 27, 1992
200m - 20.94 - Havana, Cuba, March 6, 1993
Pole Vault - 3.40 - Havana, Cuba, July 18, 1987
Long Jump - 7.06 - Havana, Cuba, March 27, 1988

Honors
On December 14, 2013, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Athletics of Central America and the Caribbean in a ceremony held at the Meliá Habana hotel.