Leyanet González Calero

Former Cuban gymnast, considered a Glory of Cuban sports for the results achieved throughout her entire athletic career. Medalist in events at the national and international level, she was the best athlete at the 1991 Pan American Games.

She was born in the province of Sancti Spíritus. Her childhood was spent within a humble family, surrounded by much love. Daughter of working parents. At the age of 2 years her days were spent running and jumping, a natural inclination of what she would later become. She entered the Children's Circle "Los Reyecitos," in the head municipality.

At the age of 6 years she enters the primary school Julio Antonio Mella. From such an early age she begins her training in rhythmic gymnastics, conducting her training in the Sala Yara, near this school.

She began in rhythmic gymnastics at the age of six. She started practicing this gymnastics, but since she was stronger than flexible, the coaches decided to switch her to artistic gymnastics. The most relevant sports results began in 1991 when she was crowned Pan American champion on the balance beam at only twelve years old. In 2003 at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo she achieved the Gold Medal on the vault. In 2004 she obtained two Bronze Medals at the World Cup in France and was a finalist in the all-around at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

At the 2003 world championship she was a finalist in vault. She finished among the top twenty-four in the all-around and achieved the title of world-class athlete for her score, which meant that for more than twenty years no Cuban female athlete had qualified for an olympiad in this sport.

After leaving sports as an active athlete, she worked as a coach for the national team in the female children's category, obtaining very good results. She then became head of the child-youth department. Later, due to her effort and ability, she became a coach for the national youth team of La Habana where she is currently.

In the year 1984, she participates in provincial competitions in this specialty and emerged as the winner at that level. This competition was momentous in her career, as the coaches present realized that she was much stronger than flexible and proposed to her family to switch her to artistic gymnastics.

Faced with this proposal, there was opposition from her grandmother, who was the athlete's most steadfast companion, arguing that if she had won in that competition it made no sense to switch her to another specialty, but the coach insisted, seeing exceptional gifts in the girl and proposed that she attend a small gym they had at the Rafael María de Mendive Teacher Training School, without interrupting her training at the Yara.

These extra trainings convinced her and her family to switch to artistic gymnastics and to enter, a year later, in the 1986-1987 school year, in the Provincial EIDE Lino Salabarría Pupo of Sancti Spíritus where she formed the first group in this specialty.

In the year 1987 she participates in the National School Games in Cárdenas, Matanzas, achieving satisfactory results that earned her the attention of the national directors present and she was recruited for the National Gymnastics School. At this center she suffers a knee injury that forces her to return to the Provincial EIDE.

In 1988 she participates again in the National School Games, winning the Silver Medal in Vault and in Uneven Bars, results for which she returns to the National School. That same year 1988 she participates in the International Gymnast of the Future Competition obtaining notable results.

In 1989, at just eleven years old, she joined the Cuba team that would participate in the Youth Friendship Games, but due to an ankle injury she was unable to attend. In 1989 she was selected to be part of the national pre-selection that would attend the national gymnastics games in Pinar del Río that took place in 1990, and where her results are notable by achieving First place as highest all-around, Gold Medal in floor exercises and Gold Medal in balance beam and vault. She obtained her title as National Champion.

She was also honored with the distinction of most technical athlete and most original athlete.

That same year (1990), she participated in the Child-Youth Pan American Championship held in La Florida, United States, where she obtains second place as Highest All-Around and National Runner-up. In Vault she obtained Silver Medal, as well as in balance beam and Gold Medal by team.

In the International Moncada Tournament, which took place that same year in Pinar del Río, she obtained Silver Medal in floor exercises and Silver Medal as highest all-around. In the Central Americans of Mexico (1990) she secured the Silver Medal in floor exercises and the Gold Medal by team, as well as Fourth place as Highest All-Around. For her national and international results she is awarded the title of "Rookie of the Year" in the province and best athlete of the month of September".

In the month of September 1990, little Leyanet González became the main attraction of the National Gymnastics Championship, 1st Category held in Pinar del Río, when for the first time an athlete from the interior of the country wins at that level and obtains the victory of highest all-around with Gold Medal in bars, vault and floor exercises. That same year she became the first athlete from Sancti Spíritus to win the national title in this complex and beautiful sport. In the Pan American championship held in the United States in this sport in the children's category she is: runner-up, only surpassed by Ania Portuondo.

She was also nominated as the most technical and most creative (December 1990) XI Pan American Games, Santiago de Cuba, 1991. A year that proved highly positive for the athlete. In these games she obtains the only Gold Medal achieved by Cuban Gymnastics in the female division, a medal that she achieves on the balance beam. The fact itself of achieving the medal could be highly stimulating for her technical team, but it was even more so because she achieved it while suffering an injury, demonstrating her determination and courage with this feat, which earned her the nickname of "The Golden Pioneer" by the national press, for being the youngest gold medalist athlete of the Pan American Games in the history of Cuban sports.

The Pan American Games, La Habana 1991, were her great test of fire. There she demonstrated her great willpower by recovering one day after suffering an injury from a fall. Much has changed since then and today she is number one in the Cuban rankings. She is selected among the ten best young athletes at the national level across all sports, and the best youth athlete in the province in 1991.

During the year 1992 she does not participate in competitions due to having undergone surgery on both knees, on the meniscus, staying away from gymnastics for a year. Recovered, she reappears the following year (1993) with the following results:

1993

1st category, City of La Habana

Bronze Medal, highest all-around.
Silver Medal by teams.
Silver Medal in vault.
Silver Medal in balance beam.
Bronze Medal in floor exercises.
Most original athlete.
In the national youth competitions

Silver Medal as highest all-around.
Gold Medal in balance beam.
Silver Medal in vault
Silver Medal in floor exercises.
Bronze Medal in uneven bars.
Moncada Tournament

Silver Medal as highest all-around
Silver Medal in floor exercises.
Central American Games, Puerto Rico

Gold Medal by team.
Silver Medal, highest all-around.
Silver Medal in balance beam.
Bronze Medal in floor exercises.
That same year, 1993, the athlete was selected for the first time as the most outstanding in individual sports in the province.
1994

1st category

Silver Medal, highest all-around.
Gold Medal in balance beam.
Silver Medal in vault.
Silver Medal in floor exercises.
Most outstanding athlete of the year.
1995

1995 was the year of her consecration. At the Friendship Tournament held in Guatemala, before the best luminaries in the world she positioned herself as the most outstanding in Latin America and nationally she took the sash from the Havanera Ania Portuondo and also finished in second place in the International.
Artistic Gymnastics Tournament

1st category. City of La Habana.

Gold Medal, highest all-around. National Champion.
Gold Medal in floor exercises.
Silver Medal in vault.
Silver Medal in balance beam.
Bronze Medal in uneven bars.
First place by provinces.
Moncada Tournament

Silver Medal, highest all-around.
Silver Medal in balance beam.
Silver Medal in uneven bars.
Bronze Medal in floor exercises.
XII Pan American Games, Mar del Plata, Argentina

Silver Medal by teams.
Bronze Medal in Balance Beam.
Bronze Medal in floor exercises.
1996

World Champion. Puerto Rico.
Silver Medal, highest all-around.
Silver Medal in vault.
Silver Medal in balance beam.
Bronze Medal in uneven bars.
Bronze Medal in floor exercises.
Moncada Cup

Bronze Medal, highest all-around.
Silver Medal in vault.
Silver Medal in balance beam.
Bronze Medal in uneven bars.
University World Games, Italy

Silver Medal in balance beam.
Bronze Medal in floor exercises.
Copa Villa de la Candelaria, Colombia

Silver Medal, highest all-around.
Silver Medal in Vault.
Silver Medal in balance beam.
Silver Medal in floor exercises.
Bronze Medal in uneven bars.
1997

Invitation Tournament, Mexico

Silver Medal in vault.
Bronze Medal, highest all-around.
University World Games, Sicily

Silver Medal in balance beam.
Bronze Medal in floor exercises.
These results are doubly important, as only she and Neisser Bent were the only ones to achieve two medals in these Sicily Universiads where athletes from 146 nations participated.

Results obtained in the Pan American Games, Colombia

Silver Medal, highest all-around.
Bronze Medal in vault.
Bronze Medal in balance beam.
Bronze Medal by teams.
National Championship

Gold Medal, Highest all-around.
Gold Medal in floor exercises.
Silver Medal in vault.
Silver Medal in uneven bars.
Bronze Medal in balance beam.
Results obtained in the Moncada Cup

Gold Medal, Highest all-around.
Gold Medal, floor exercises.
Silver Medal in vault.
Bronze Medal in balance beam.
1998

Results obtained in National Championship

Gold Medal, highest all-around.
Gold Medal in balance beam.
Gold Medal in floor exercises.
Silver Medal in uneven bars.
Bronze Medal in vault.
Results obtained in World Cup

Silver Medal, highest all-around.
Gold Medal in floor exercises.
Gold Medal in uneven bars.
Gold Medal in balance beam.
Silver Medal in vault.
Results obtained in Central American Games, Maracaibo, Venezuela

Silver Medal, highest all-around.
Silver Medal by teams.
Gold Medal in floor exercises.
Silver Medal in balance beam
Results obtained in International Championship. Martinique

Gold Medal, Highest all-around.
Gold Medal in floor exercises.
Gold Medal in uneven bars.
Gold Medal by teams.
Silver Medal in vault.
Bronze Medal in balance beam.
1999

Results obtained in National Championship

Gold Medal, Highest all-around.
Gold Medal in vault.
Gold Medal in balance beam.
Gold Medal in floor exercises.
Gold Medal by teams.
Bronze Medal in uneven bars.
Results obtained in Moncada Cup

Gold Medal, highest all-around.
Gold Medal in uneven bars.
Results obtained in Invitation Tournament, Mexico

Gold Medal in vault.
Bronze Medal in balance beam.
2000

National Championship

Gold Medal, highest all-around
Gold Medal in vault
Gold Medal uneven bars
Gold Medal in balance beam
Gold Medal in floor exercises
Silver Medal by team
Moncada Cup

Gold Medal, highest all-around
Gold Medal balance beam
Gold Medal uneven bars
Silver Medal vault
Silver Medal floor exercises
Invitation Tournament, Mexico

Silver Medal Vault
Silver Medal floor exercises
2001

Pan American Championship Mexico
Gold Medal balance beam
Bronze Medal by team
2002

Still active and with very good results she decides to have her first child, so she temporarily stops training and takes care of herself, but visits the gym regularly, remembering the joys and sacrifices spent there and always thinking about her return.

After giving birth and only ten days later, she returns to visit the sports facility, and she is so overcome with nostalgia that only after three months does she begin training and after four she joins the team. "Physically and psychologically I am very well, now with more tasks and greater responsibility, but I have the support of Erick's mother who takes care of the child so I can train.

2003

Pan Americans. Dominican Republic

Gold Medal in vault.
Highest all-around. Achieves her qualification for the Olympics.
International Moncada Tournament

Gold Medal vault
Gold Medal uneven bars
Gold Medal floor exercises
Silver Medal balance beam
Gold Medal, highest all-around
World Championship California, United States

In this competition, on her first day, she passed among the top twenty-four and obtained the condition of world-class athlete for her score and it granted her qualification for the Athens Olympiad that would take place in 2004. Athens would be for Leyanet González Debut and farewell at the Olympic Games. She arrives with the joy of complete fulfillment, tinged by the experiences of a short childhood in Sancti Spíritus.

2004

Olympic Games of Cuban sports

Gold Medal floor exercises
Gold Medal uneven bars
Gold Medal vault
Silver Medal balance beam
Gold medal, highest all-around
In this precious demonstration of her good competitive condition, Leyanet conquered the title in floor exercises (9.600 points), followed by Colombian Viviana Blanco (8.575 points).

Regarding her performance in Mexico in the Center Caribbean Games where she returned with a Silver Medal in floor exercises, she is not satisfied, she aspired to that medal and others, in addition to being among the top three places, but the falls prevented her and also the judging went against us, which was not fair.

Upon her return to La Habana from Romania, the only Cuban competitor qualified for Athens explained that she obtained two Bronze Medals, one in vault (9.20 points) and another in floor exercises (9.375 points), in a competition where the host team (Olympic champions), China, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Venezuela and other countries participated.

After a very strong training base in Spain, Leyanet González comments that she feels very well, in optimal shape, very confident for the Athens Olympiad. This was my dream, the greatest thing that could happen to me, and thinking of Sancti Spíritus gives me additional strength. I will go out with a positive mind and will give body, heart and soul in each performance.

World Championship of France

She obtains two Bronze Medals: in floor exercises and in vault.

She also merited the world-class award conferred by the International Gymnastics Federation, which is awarded for a very high score in the highest all-around, achieved in Olympic games or in world championships.

In the aforementioned Athens Olympiad, Greece, she finished as highest all-around.

On April 12, 2004 Leyanet González Calero officially retires from active sports, whose official act took place at the National Gymnastics School. That day the "Queen of Gymnastics" said goodbye to active sports, being an example for the new generations of athletes of the land of Yayabo and Cuba.

Third Stage (2005-present)

Work as a Gymnastics coach for the National Team

Once retired she begins to work as a coach at the National Gymnastics School in the children's category located in the Capital of Cubans, obtaining very good competitive results, with emphasis in the 2005 school games.

Leyanet González must be classified as a quality coach, with expertise to educate and teach the necessary knowledge for each athlete. She shows special interest in her students learning, which is why she obtains notable results in each competition in which her students participate.

In 2005 she became head of the child-youth department of the National Gymnastics School where she remained until 2008.

In 2007 she was invited to participate in the World Festival of Youth and Students in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the year in which she also became General Secretary of the PCC nucleus at the National Gymnastics School.