Mireya Luis Hernández

Retired volleyball player. Glory of Cuban sports. For 18 years she was the captain of the renowned Morenas del Caribe, ranked as one of the best players in the history of world volleyball, with three titles in Olympic Games (1992, 1996, and 2000), the same number in World Cups (1989, 1991, 1995); two in Grand Prix tournaments (1993, 2000) and four in Pan American Games (1983, 1987, 1991, 1995) and Central American and Caribbean Games (1986, 1990, 1993). Her athletic career made her worthy of being selected among the outstanding athletes of the 20th century and being inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame, located in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States.

She retired in the year 2000 as an athlete but has maintained constant activity in favor of sports as vice president of the National Commission for Athlete Care and member of the Cuban Volleyball Federation. She is part of the Athletes Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In March 2012 she was elected member of the Executive Committee and Board of Administration of the North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA).

Mireya Luis was born in the city of Camagüey. At only fourteen years old she participated in a first-category national championship, and was chosen as the best attacker of the tournament. She had her first international experience at the Pan American Sports Games in Caracas, in 1983, where Cuba won the gold medal in women's volleyball. In 1986 she played in the World Championship in Prague, where her team finished in second place.

In solidarity with the people of North Korea, Cuba did not attend the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, but twelve months later, Mireya Luis led the Cuban team to the title in the World Cup, although the following year they finished off the podium in the World Championship.

At the Olympic Games in Barcelona, in 1992, they achieved first place, which was greatly influenced by Mireya's attacking and blocking ability. In the 1994 World Championship the Cuban team did not lose a single set. Mireya Luis's attacks proved vital for Cuba in winning the crown of the 1995 World Cup in Japan.

In 1996, at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, once again Mireya Luis's spikes were decisive for the gold medal that her team won against China.

The Cuban team's performance declined for a few months, but in the 1998 World Championship they returned to their winning ways. Mireya Luis started as a regular player, but later was benched. A year later, although she did not perform on the court, her presence proved inspiring for the team, which won the third consecutive gold medal in Olympic Games in the year 2000, in Sydney.

For a long time Mireya Luis was the captain of the Cuban national team, in which she accumulated eighteen years of work.

In addition to her three Olympic gold medals, she was part of the world champion teams in Brazil in 1994 and in Nagoya, Japan, in 1998. She was also a winner of multiple medals in World Cups, Grand Prix, Pan American Games and Central American Games, and has received recognition from the public in various places, especially in China and Japan. She was named Illustrious Daughter of Camagüey.

Her fruitful career as a volleyball player earned her a place in the Hall of Fame of sports, in Massachusetts, United States. Selected in the All-Star teams at the World Galas of 1985 and 1992, she was ranked among the best attackers in the world for more than a decade.

She was chosen among the most outstanding athletes of Cuba and Latin America; and served as captain of Las Morenas del Caribe between 1988 and 1996.

Upon retiring, she became part of the Athletes Commission of the International Olympic Committee. She then joined the Olympic Solidarity Commission, and in Cuba she handles International Relations at the Cuban Volleyball Federation, in addition to being vice president of the Cuban Commission for Athlete Care of the Cuban Olympic Committee. Member of the executive committee of NORCECA.

In 2021 she is selected Executive Vice President of the International Volleyball Federation for the period 2021-2024.

Main Results
• World Cup, 1989, gold medal (MVP, best attacker, All-Star Team)
• World Cup, 1991, gold medal (best attacker, All-Star Team)
• Barcelona Olympic Games, 1992, gold medal (All-Star Team)
• Grand Prix, 1993, gold medal (MVP, best attacker)
• Grand Prix, 1994, silver medal (best attacker)
• World Championship, 1994, gold medal (best attacker)
• Grand Prix, 1995, bronze medal
• World Cup, 1995, gold medal (MVP, best attacker)
• Atlanta Olympic Games, 1996, gold medal
• Grand Prix, 1997, silver medal
• Grand Prix, 1998, bronze medal
• World Championship, 1998, gold medal
• Grand Prix, 2000, gold medal
• Sydney Olympic Games, 2000, gold medal