Leonel Smith Polo

Swimming athlete, known by the nickname Bebito, stood out as a swimmer in 100, 400 and 1500 meter freestyle, as well as in the 4 by 100 relay, being champion in the I and II Central American and Caribbean Games, from 1932 he stands out as a teacher and sports coach for children.
Contents [hide]
1 Biographical Summary
2 Sports Results and as a coach
3 Bebito's Life
4 See also
5 Sources
Biographical Summary

He was born on June 30, 1909 in Varadero Matanzas. The proximity to the sea and the love he felt for swimming allowed him to learn to swim from a very early age, he had no teachers, without knowledge of techniques or having a coach, he swam 2 miles daily in search of physical strength, he tied his body to a boat and that is how he trained.

In 1931 he suffered a car accident, being hospitalized for nine months, with fractures in both arms and both legs, which made him say goodbye to active sports, but his love for swimming pools turned him into a teacher and coach. He moves to Ciudad de La Habana and begins to teach new generations. He retired in 1964, but remained in teaching, especially with children.

Sports Results and as a coach

He was a member of the Varadero Yacht Club, where he was known as an accomplished swimmer. Among his main results in swimming are:

First place in 100 meter freestyle, in a competition held on August 23, 1914, at the Varadero Yacht Club, at age 16.
In the period between 1925 and 1931, he won 19 gold medals in national and international competitions.

Mexico 1926, obtains gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle, with a time of 6:6.3, gold in the 1500 with 26:17.7 and participated in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay along with Carlos González, Alberto Gou and Gonzalo Silverio winning gold.

In the II Central American and Caribbean Games in La Habana 1930, he obtains gold medal in 400 meter freestyle with 5:28.6, as well as in the 1500 with 22:22.0 and in the 4 x 100 relay with 4:26.2 along with Cosme Carol, Pablo la Rosa and Gonzalo Silverio and silver in the 100 meter freestyle.

From 1932 onwards he stands out as a coach for children
In a survey conducted in 1950, he was elected as the most outstanding Cuban swimmer of the mid-twentieth century
With the triumph of the revolution he dedicates himself to teaching the secrets of swimming to children, his dedication is even more powerful to the mentioned creative work of the individual and the athlete in both sexes. From 1976 onwards he stands out as a coach at the Camilo Cienfuegos Sports Center, in the Cuban capital, where he puts his innovative theories of swimming instruction into practice, with groups of children from months old to 6 years of age, to adapt them to the aquatic environment from an early age.

He was very fond of children and was always willing to help parents teach them to swim, he said it was better to learn to swim before learning to walk. It is said that one day "The old coach increases his usual smile since he was always happy, he has in his hands a small child barely one year old, he gently releases him in the pool, the little boy floats, tries to swim in his own way, without abandoning gestures of joy, the mother, very close, although worried, breathes easier".

With this example the instructor Bebito Smith, demonstrates his thesis that to learn to swim well you have to start very early, he said that swimming "is a means and an activity not natural to human beings, if begun in the early years, the fruits are greater, from that well-worked mass, the aces can and should be born".

He declared on one occasion: "I feel satisfied by the pleasant memories of what I lived in Varadero, the successes in the Central American Games and for having achieved what I always wanted: a normal and simple life".

He died in La Habana in the year 2000, but remains present in the work and achievements of Cuban sports, fundamentally in the real pinnacle of that great movement that is the base.

In the year 1999 it was decided to celebrate June 30 as Swimming Day in Cuba in tribute to the birth of Bebito Smith.