Cuban Regla Bell Inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame

May 21, 2024

Cuban volleyball player Regla Bell, one of the three-time Olympic champions with the "Morenas del Caribe", was inducted into the Hall of Fame of that sport, revealed Monday by the institution based in Massachusetts, United States.

Bell was one of the cornerstones of the Cuban Olympic champion team in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, and in the world championships in Brazil 1994 and Japan 1998, in which she shared the court with other stars such as Mireya Luis, Regla Torres and Magaly Carvajal.

A left-handed player with great power in her hitting, Bell also stood out in several professional leagues around the world, including those in Italy, Spain and Brazil.

The induction ceremony will take place on October 19th at the headquarters of the organization in Holyoke, and it is expected that, in addition to Bell, the other honorees will attend: Andrea Zorzi (Italy), beach volleyball players Ana Paula (Brazil) and Tim Hovland (United States), coaches José Roberto Guimaraes (Brazil) and Hadi Rezaei (Iran, sitting volleyball), referees Juan Ángel Pereyra (Argentina) and Sue Lemaire (United States) and businessman Giuseppe Panini (Italy).

Regla Bell is the eighth Cuban inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame after the best player of the 20th century, Regla Torres (2001), Mireya Luis (2004), Magalys Carvajal (2011), Mirka Francia (2019), Taimaris Agüero (2021), Yumilka Ruiz (2023) and coach Eugenio George (2005).

Cuba had this time another aspirant to enter the Hall, the decorated Olympic medalist coach Gilberto Herrera, but ultimately he was not among those selected.