Gustavo Rolle, father of Cuban sports struggle, passed away

November 29, 2019

Professor Gustavo Rollé Fernández, father of Cuban wrestling and member of the Hall of Fame of this sport, died in Havana at the age of 78, victim of a sudden decline in his health.

Luis de la Portilla, national commissioner of wrestling, upon confirming the sad news, valued as very great the grief prevailing in the family of the discipline in the country.

Born in Havana, Rollé Fernández dedicated much of his life to the development of wrestling, being an athlete, coach, commissioner, and president of the Cuban federation.

Hoarse voice, with convincing gestures, accompanying his words with a smile that made you feel like family, Rollé never boasted of the many responsibilities he successfully carried out in the sports panorama of Cuba and also beyond its borders. Not for nothing do they call him the "Father of Cuban wrestling."

Since the late 1950s he dedicated his life to creating and giving to others. First as an athlete, then as a coach, president of the national wrestling commission, member of the Board of the International Federation of the aforementioned discipline, director of High Performance of Inder, so dedicated was his path among those who always valued him in these and other tasks.