Pedro Val Balgueiras

Cuban sports coach in Greco-Roman wrestling, known by all wrestling followers as Pedro. He was selected as the best Greco-Roman wrestling coach in the world in 2010, recognition for his work over several decades in this sport. Glory of Cuban sports.

He served as coach of Cuba's national teams since 1975, contributing decisively not only to forging the Cuban school of this sport, but also to brilliant athletes who left their mark on the most prestigious mats in the world, achieving Olympic and world titles in junior and senior categories such as Filiberto Azcuy, Héctor Milián Pérez, and Mijaín López, among others.

His outstanding work made him worthy of various awards and recognitions in Cuba and abroad, notably the condition of best coach in the world in 2010, granted by the then International Federation of Associated Wrestling (FILA).

In Olympic competitions he proved to be a master, as in the seven editions held between Barcelona 1992 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 his students reigned in six of them.

Maintaining for decades the hegemony of Cuban classical wrestling at the Central American and Caribbean and Pan-American level; and leading the tricolor team to the historic triumph over Russia at the World Championship in Patras, Greece, in 2001, something unprecedented, were some of the achievements duly recorded in his service record.

Statistics in worldwide competitions are also very eloquent: between 1982 and 2017 our country won 48 awards at that level, most of which went through his hands, through his intelligence.

In Olympic competitions he proved to be a master at winning, as in the seven editions held between Barcelona 1992 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 his students reigned in six of them.

Gustavo Rolle, the father of Cuban wrestling, distressed by his death, told Cubahora readers: "Pedro Val was a coach of great results and an excellent person. He led his teams to five perfect performances, that is, winning all gold medals at Central American and Caribbean Games: Havana 1982, Santiago de los Caballeros 1986, Mexico 1990, Ponce 1993 and Maracaibo 1998. And also at the Pan-American Games in Santo Domingo 2003. Eight golds at Olympic Games, several at world championships".

He was not a wrestler. He didn't need to be. He became a graduate in Physical Culture. He took a course and started working with Freestyle. Then he moved to Greco. Then everything divine came...

The wrestlers, as I was able to see so many times, respected and loved him. It seemed to me this was the case with Héctor Milián (champion in Barcelona 1992). Or Filiberto Azcuy (both in Atlanta 1996 and in Sydney 2000). Or Mijaín López (Beijing 2008-London 2012-Rio 2016).

Azcuy, an extremely difficult feat, won first in the 74 kilogram division, and then, dropping weight, in the 69 kilogram division. When I saw them, very happy, returning at the Havana airport they seemed to be father and son (not coach and athlete).

Once before the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (after we had a long working session at the Cerro Pelado training center), he invited me to lunch there with Mijaín and him. I was surprised by the importance that sweet potato had that day in the champion's menu. If Pedro Val had wanted his student to have a different menu he would not have said anything about it. He was incapable of saying anything that could affect the psychological state of any of his boys.

Some time later, already in Beijing 2008, Mijaín twisted like a mannequin the Russian Khassan Baroev, the most difficult rival he has faced to this day in his career. Later it was even discovered that the Russian was doped there. Blessed be the sweet potatoes!, I thought. Blessed be Pedro Val!

And he was so good (I know it very well because I worked with him for many years), that he remained a simple, affable man, always attentive, easy to reach, transparent, someone whose fame never went to his head...

I don't even remember a night when I called him at his home, interrupting his rest, and he didn't have time to attend to me, always full of kindness. Ah... even in the exceptional moments when there was not a good result, and he knew very well that the conversation was not going to be as pleasant as we would have wished.

Source: Ecured