The only man who has jumped over a football goal returns to Guadalajara to train his son

March 19, 2021

Along the Bulevar del Alto Tajo, in the eastern part of Guadalajara, walks a 53-year-old Cuban man without a single gray hair. He has some pristine white sports sneakers on his feet and other gray ones, with nails and wrinkles, in his hands (to have them signed for the Sports Museum). The man's name is Javier Sotomayor Sanabria and he is one of three people in the world who fit the old Latin precept 'citius, altius, fortius': no one else in the history of humanity has managed to jump over a football goal (whose legal measurement is 2.44 meters).

Sotomayor owns one of the longest-lasting records in the history of athletics (2.45 meters) and has a very particular relationship with Spain: he set the world record in Salamanca (on July 27, 1993) and is Prince of Asturias Award for Sports. However, his second home is Guadalajara. His and that of dozens of Cuban athletes, who almost 35 years ago found in this city of 100,000 inhabitants their ecosystem, especially after Iván Pedroso (world and Olympic champion in long jump) set his residence, got married and saw his daughter born in the largest town in the Alcarria.

Today Guadalajara is a consolidated trend in Central American and Spanish athletics, although Sotomayor jokes and insists it be clear that they discovered it, the Cubans, "back around 1987", a year before at just 20 years old he broke the world record for the first time and established himself in the world elite. Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas (second world record in triple jump) also trains today in Guadalajara, under the direction of Pedroso (like Spanish Ana Peleteiro, among other female athletes).

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"We have love for Spain, you understand?", says Sotomayor, whose example spread throughout the Cuban Athletics Federation (where he is now secretary general): his country's athletics teams continue to spend seasons, "long winter and summer stays", in this city half an hour from the airport (and without traffic), which according to the idol opened their doors from day one: "The mayors, the sports counselors, the people who hosted us… The people of Guadalajara. Sometimes we've gone to Coslada or Alcalá de Henares, but in Guadalajara we've put down roots. Truly, it feels like home".

Family in Guadalajara

So much so that now Sotomayor's wife lives in the city with his two children. The youngest, 13 years old, trains in high jump. The Olympic champion comes and goes, although he spends more time on his island. He no longer wants to get involved in politics and defend the Revolution, as he did for years, but the pride of having represented his country shows through his skin. "It's very hard for me to be away from Cuba, I'm a fanatic about my people", he will repeat throughout the conversation on Alto Tajo Boulevard. "Thank goodness my family makes the distance bearable for me…"

Sotomayor never left Cuba, although during his athletic career he spent many seasons away from the Caribbean, whether for competitions themselves or for the need to train at altitude (Mexico, Colombia, Grenada). When he retired, he founded the salsa orchestra Salsamayor (which still exists), and his next plan is to reopen in Havana a live music venue that he called '2.45'. "When I was away, I missed Cuban culture and daily life every day. The way of living: being jovial, being in good humor; we like to party... And we have many problems, but we even end up laughing at them".

This Sunday the laughs are not guaranteed: after two years of a break, his son is competing again. (Coronavirus emptied 2020 of athletic competitions, except for the elite). The father, although he doesn't stop joking, shows his emotion: "He hasn't competed since he was 11, we'll see". What is more important in young people, talent or the obsessive discipline that later characterizes champions? "The first thing is that you like it", he answers flatly. "Kids have more obsession with football and basketball: there's more press attention and in the future that's what will make them the most money. In Cuba many kids start with baseball, like football here, and then emigrate to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the United States… So you need love and passion for this sport".

The boy shows promise, but Sotomayor looks hardened by experience with one of his other sons. "He might have some talent", he jokes ironically, "maybe I passed something on to him... He has size, long limbs, he likes it. But there are things that at his age I can't assure will last forever. I experienced it with my older son, who jumped two meters very young and then got demotivated on his own. We'll know in 5 years. He has all my support, tomorrow [Sunday] of course I'll be with him, for whatever I can contribute".

The Doping Crisis

Sotomayor lived through a bitter ordeal in 1999 when during a doping test they found traces of cocaine in his urine. He traveled three times to Monaco to defend his innocence, but I was 14 months without competing, just the year before the Sydney 2000 Games. "I didn't have a serious social problem, because very many people trusted me. But I was a year and two months without competing, and I didn't know if they were going to let me compete or not".

Finally Sotomayor was authorized to compete in Australia, although his medal from those Winnipeg Pan American Games was not returned to him. "It went okay for me", he jokes. "I got silver". "I had bad luck, there was water. And water on the track was very bad for me. I would go in very fast, I had a very quick stride. And the water forced me to jump like other jumpers".

The consequences of a wet track on Sotomayor's performance explain the differential factor that allowed him to fly higher than anyone. (Although currently a 29-year-old Qatari jumper, Mutaz Essa Barshim, threatens his record with a personal best of 2.43). "Theoretically the last step of the run, the impulse, is the shortest", he explains. "But mine, on the other hand, was the longest. And I would go in with a lot of speed. If the track was wet or in bad conditions, I would slip a lot. And a slip could cause me a serious injury. I then had to change my technique: run slower than usual, shorter steps... And if you don't do your routine, the results aren't the same. In wet ground conditions, the highest I jumped (once in Havana) was 2.36. Never more than 2.35".