Mayra Vila Machado

Glory of Cuban sports. Cuban athlete specializing in javelin throw, she was part of the national team for 16 years, three-time bronze medalist at the World University Games in Mexico, 1979; Bucharest, 1981 and Edmonton; 1983. Silver medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Athletics Championship in 1981, runner-up at the XIV Central American and Caribbean Games held in Cuba in 1982, Pan-American runner-up in 1983.

Central American and Caribbean champion in 1985, she set a national and American record by throwing the javelin 70.14 meters in 1985 at the International Meeting of the Madrid Community in Spain, being the first woman on the American continent to surpass the 70-meter barrier in this discipline.

She retired from active sports in 1990 due to an injury. She is Head of Improvement and Research of the Time and Records Department of the University of Sciences of Physical Culture and Sports Manuel Fajardo (UCCFD) and a full professor. In 2011 she obtained the scientific degree of Ph.D. in Science of Physical Culture and Sports.

Born on June 5, 1960 in Santa Clara, Villa Clara, she began playing sports at the age of nine, dreamed of being a table tennis player, when she joined the Athletics area Aurelio Janet in the city of Santa Clara, where she received multilateral training.

She practiced in different athletics disciplines, including short sprint races, flat races and hurdles, high jump and long jump. She also played youth baseball, throwing the ball with her left arm a respectable distance, which is why she was advised to take up javelin throwing, with her first throw exceeding 20 meters. For 16 years she was part of the national athletics team in this specialty, where she achieved outstanding results.

Despite being a high-performance athlete, she did not neglect her professional training, pursuing higher education, graduating as an engineer in Agricultural Mechanization in 1983 and in 1990 as an engineer in Machinery Construction, her athletic development and desire for improvement allowed her to study and graduate as a Licentiate in Physical Culture. She was awarded the Gold Title in all three university degrees pursued, obtained the Master's degree in Sports Training Methodology in 2003 and in 2011 obtained the scientific degree of Ph.D. in Sciences of Physical Culture and Sports. She is a full professor.

She completed an internationalist mission in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in the period 2007-2009, teaching Physical Preparation and Athletics courses at the Iberoamerican University of Sports in the state of Cojedes, and was also assigned the responsibility of President of the State Commission for Athlete Care.

She is a National Methodologist, attending Postgraduate Specialties at the Vice-Rectory of Improvement and Postgraduate Studies of the University of Sciences of Physical Culture and Sports Manuel Fajardo, also serving as coach of the university athletics team in the throwing area, is a Member of the National Chair: Woman, Physical Culture and Sports, and of the Technical-Methodological Commission of the Cuban Athletics Federation.

Sports Results
The javelin thrower's first official result was 34.40 meters, at the age of fifteen with a mark of 42.28 meters, she was classified as a rough diamond, she always competed with 15 steps and had the defect of throwing her body forward at the moment of release, nevertheless, thanks to her extraordinary physical strength and dedication to training it allowed her to represent Cuba in several national and international events, among which are:

National
Provincial competitions in Cuba, 1971-1978: 4 gold medals, 4 silver and four bronze.
Copa Cuba in Havana, 1974-1990: 5 gold medals, 8 silver and 3 bronze.
Memorial Aurelio Janet in Havana: 1974-1990: 3 gold medals, 7 silver and 6 bronze.
Memorial José Barrientos in Havana: 1974-1990: 2 gold medals, 6 silver and 3 bronze.

International
VII Pan American Youth Games, in Mexico, 1978: obtains two gold medals and two silver.
World University Games, in Mexico, 1979: bronze medal.
World University Games, in Romania, 1981: bronze medal.
World Athletics Championship, in Helsinki, 1981: obtains 5th place.
Central American and Caribbean Athletics Championship, in Santo Domingo, 1981: silver medal.
III World Cup of Athletics, in Italy, 1982: obtains 5th place.
XIV Central American and Caribbean Games, in Cuba, 1982: silver medal.
World University Games, in Canada, 1983: bronze medal.
Grand Prix, in Switzerland, 1983: obtains 5th place.
Pan American Games, in Caracas, Venezuela, 1983: silver medal.
Athletic Meet, "Papel Galgo", in Madrid, Spain, 1984: gold medal.
Central American and Caribbean Athletics Championship, Bahamas, 1985: gold medal.
International Meeting of the Madrid Community, in Spain, 1985: gold medal, sets a national and American record by throwing the javelin 70.14 meters.

Professional Experience
Researcher at the Department of Design and Hydraulics of the National Center for Agricultural Machinery (1984-1996).
Athletics Professor at the Higher Institute of Physical Culture Manuel Fajardo from 1998 to the present).
Methodologist of the Vice-Rectory of Improvement and Postgraduate Studies. Head of Postgraduate Specialties.
Auxiliary Coach in the National Team Throwing Area.
Head of Improvement and Research of the Time and Records Department of the ISCF Manuel Fajardo.
Member of the National Chair, Woman, Physical Culture and Sports.
Member of the Technical-Methodological Commission of the Cuban Athletics Federation.

Retirement from Active Sports
At the age of 25 due to a serious injury to the elbow of her left arm, which was her throwing arm, since she was left-handed she had to retire from active sports, when she was at the height of her athletic abilities, nevertheless she continued training, with the hope of improving, but the injury worsened as a result of physical effort and in 1990 she decided to end her career as a national team athlete, continuing as a professor and javelin throwing coach, training new generations.

As technical director of the Technical-Methodological Commission of the National Athletics Commission, she was designated to participate in the XIII World Athletics Championship, in Daegu, South Korea, being in August 2011, at a training base with the Cuban delegation in Pamplona Spain.