Mario José Granda Fraga

He is a Cuban doctor, graduated in the specialty of Sports Medicine, former director of the Institute of Sports Medicine and director of the Cuban anti-doping laboratory.

Graduated as a doctor in sports medicine, he subsequently achieved the category of Specialist of II degree in Sports Medicine. After having directed the Institute of Sports Medicine for several years, he was appointed director of the Cuban anti-doping Laboratory

He is head of the medical and anti-doping commission of the Cuban Olympic Committee, associate titular professor of the Manuel Fajardo Higher Institute of Physical Culture; Master's in Medical Control of Sports Training

Secretary of the medical commission of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization and member of the anti-doping commission of the Pan American Sports Organization. He is also a member of the Cuban Olympic Committee.

As a result of the unfounded doping accusations made against Cuban athletes during the Pan American Games held in Winnipeg, Canada in 1999, Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro proposed the idea of creating an anti-doping laboratory in Cuba.

Dr. Granda was in charge of the entire process of implementation and startup of this institution until achieving recognition by the International Olympic Committee and certification by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

On the occasion of certification in 2003, the sports physician assessed the broad spectrum of functions and tasks of the center, expressing:

"Our laboratory can serve to improve the medical control of sports training, to know the best moment to orient the appropriate loads in athletes, through a study of endogenous profiles, to determine the levels of testosterone and cortisol, indicators to apply rapid strength and speed and at what time endurance, since we all know that the human organism, for hormones, has a circadian rhythm".

Regarding the future of the institution he stated:

"Well, we are now the number 31 laboratory accredited by the IOC on the planet. We all know that on the continent there are those in Los Angeles in the United States, Montreal in Canada; Brazil; Colombia, recently approved and now Cuba's. This center constitutes for all countries in Central America and the Caribbean the possibility of being able to fulfill national anti-doping programs. Within the World Anti-Doping Agency, (WADA) we represent this part of the hemisphere and we must collaborate to achieve this objective".

"With this accreditation we fulfill the dream of our Comandante en Jefe to have a laboratory that would serve these countries in the area and the third world and that at the same time would allow us to conduct studies on this scourge at much lower prices than in other laboratories".

Death

He passed away on the night of Thursday, October 18, 2012 at the age of 57 years, as a result of an acute myocardial infarction.

Publications and events

He wrote the prologue of the book Ultrasound of the Locomotor System, edited by a work team made up of specialists in Imaging, Sports Medicine, Orthopedics and Rheumatology, led by professor Orlando Valls Pérez.

Regarding it he stated:

"This book represents a reference document on a diagnostic method of great utility for specialists in the area of Sports Medicine, as well as for traumatologists, in the subsequent application of surgical techniques."

In 2005 in option for the master's degree, he presented the work named, Characteristics of the Endogenous Anabolic Steroid Profile in Cuban Olympic Medalists from 2000 and 2004.

He belongs to the editorial board of the Cuban Journal of Orthopedics and Traumatology. He was part of the Honor Committee and Organizer of the III edition of the ALBA Games held in La Habana in 2009.

He has published several works on medicine applied to sports, among which are cited:

Characteristics of the Endogenous Anabolic Steroid Profile of Cuban Olympic Medalists in Sydney and Athens
Injuries, Sports Medicine in Adolescence
Characteristics of the endogenous anabolic steroid profile in elite volleyball players. Preliminary study.
δ13c values of urinary endogenous steroids in the Cuban population
Characterization of the urinary steroid profile of a population of Latin American athletes.
Variations in the endogenous steroidal profile due to the consumption of different drugs. a statistical approach. (preliminary study)
Sports Medicine in Adolescence
Sports Medicine and Physical Culture in Cuba, Background and Perspectives
Endocrine studies in high-performance athletes in different training stages.

He received numerous recognitions and decorations, and his high degree of scientific training made him a figure of international respect. He gave lectures in numerous countries and even helped establish sports medicine centers in several Latin American nations. A staunch guardian of the purity of Cuban sports, he defended its principles and values in different events.

His example as a man of science and his love and dedication to the Cuban sports movement make him, from now on, a necessary reference point for sports-medical activity and reward him with a place of honor in the history of Cuban sports and medicine.