Hermes Ramírez, Glory of Cuban Sports, Passed Away

September 5, 2024

From the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), the death of Hermes Julián Ramírez Limonta was announced. He was born in Guantánamo on January 7, 1948.

"Olympic runner-up in Mexico 1968 (4x100) and triple Pan American medalist in that event, he also stood out for his pedagogical work," was published on the organization's X social network.

Hermes rose among the most precocious Cuban sprinters, possessing an impressive start and remarkable abilities for speed.

He set the world's best time for the 100 meters among juveniles in his era (10.2 seconds), recorded times of 10 seconds in that distance on four occasions, and was one of the few runners from the Island to compete in three Olympic Games: Mexico, Munich, and Montreal 1976.

Founder of the School Games, a multi-medalist in Central American and Pan American Games, he remained active for 12 years on Cuba's elite national team.

After retiring, he continued his work as a professor at the Military Technical Institute, which he had been doing while still an athlete, and worked at the technical schools of the DAAFAR and artillery, among other institutions.

He provided services in Mexico and Panama, and for four years was part of the coaching staff of the national team.

After a five-day hospitalization, the Olympic runner-up from Mexico 68, Hermes Ramírez, died at Calixto García hospital in the Cuban capital as a result of a cerebrovascular accident. He ultimately died due to three cardiac arrests that he could not survive.

Hermes had been admitted since last Saturday, first at the Cardiovascular hospital and then in the intensive care unit of the emergency room where he was treated by the neurology staff of Calixto García.