The prominent athlete and coach David Giralt has died

April 15, 2020

The Cuban sports family mourns the death of David Giralt Agramonte, the first man capable of surpassing eight meters in the long jump in Central America and the Caribbean and architect of many other achievements as a coach.

Giralt Agramonte was overcome by complications from the diabetes mellitus he suffered from and was laid to rest this Tuesday by a group of his closest family members and friends at the Pantheon of Sports Glories of the Colón Necropolis.

"Pain in #InderCuba," tweeted the president of that organization, Osvaldo Vento Montiller. "Our condolences to the family and friends of who was a star jumper," the official added.

Born in the municipality of San Luis in Santiago 60 years ago, Giralt stood out from an early age and set several school, youth, and senior records, in addition to winning gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Medellín 1978 and silver at the Pan American Games in San Juan 1979.

A participant in the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games and bronze medalist at the World Cup in Montreal in 1979, he stood out for his revolutionary passion and love of sport, especially athletics.

He was also the father and coach of two other outstanding competitors: triple jumper Arnie David and Suslaydis, representative of the movement for the disabled (Ansoc), a multi-medalist in long jump, triple jump, and 100 meters in national and international competitions.

The national athletics commissioner Yipsi Moreno lamented that the current situation of fighting against COVID-19 prevented organizing a farewell of the magnitude deserved by the trajectory and performance of a man who gave himself fully to the so-called king of sports.