¿!Usain Bolt!? The flag bearer won in 17 seconds

July 31, 2018

In these XXIII Central American and Caribbean Games there is no other triple Olympic champion, five-time world champion and four-time Pan American champion. It was a preview of the greatest wrestler of this century and without question, Cuba's safest gold at this event, conquered in just 17 seconds.

The flag bearer of our delegation inflicted three impressive 8-0 victories on his three rivals: Edgardo López, from Puerto Rico; Moisés Pérez, from Venezuela and Leo Dalis Santana, from Dominican Republic. The one who lasted the longest on the mat was this last one in the title match, he finished off the others in between 12 and 15 seconds. You could say that the Pinar del Río native is the Usain Bolt of wrestling.

However, something never before seen in an official competition. Each of them, like the rest of those registered in his division (130 kg), asked him to keep the memory of meeting him in a photograph, some even while waiting for the presumed defeat before him.

Mijaín pleased everyone, he even had time to approach Lianna Montero (57 kg) and give her some advice before she won the first title of the women's team by easily defeating Puerto Rican Marie Rodríguez 6-1, in a day where his teammate Lilianet Duanes (53 kg) ended with silver after four fights without scoring points against her, before appearing more tired than Venezuelan Betzabeth Arguello in the fight for the crown and yielding 6-0. Also, Yusneyly Guzmán (50 kg) earned a respectable bronze.

After the success, the photos and the press media came down again on the giant from Pinar del Río, charismatic as few practitioners of this sport in the world and who willingly answered all questions in an impromptu press conference.

"I am very happy to be the flag bearer and to fulfill, because with that I ratify the confidence that the highest authorities of the country give me. This is the gold that Cuba was waiting for," he said smiling and happy.

"It is a competition that did not have so much competitive pressure, but as far as making weight, because after two years without participating in any tournament making weight was the fear of some. But I did it and finished at 128 kilos the day before weigh-in.

"That means that everything is being done well, in terms of training plans to arrive in optimal form at Tokyo 2020, where I want to achieve my fourth Olympic gold," Mijaín confessed, while reaffirming his farewell to the Central American and Caribbean Games with this gold and that he would not attend the upcoming world championship (Oscar Pino will attend) because he would reserve himself only for multiple sporting events and fulfill his contract in the German league.

Regarding the performance of his sport so far and the motivation to attend these regional competitions, something not common among the great champions of world sport, he argued:

"The performance of Greco-Roman wrestling was very good. We had only one setback with Yasmani Lugo, which can serve as experience for him, because he is young and has the potential to achieve great results as he did at the Rio Olympic Games. He lost the opportunity to be Central American champion for the second time and now he will have to wait four years.

"The 12 or 14 titles are still possible in our sport. The freestyle wrestling girls are training well and are determined to reign. I told all of them that here any world or Pan American medalist can lose, so the only thing to do is to give your all.

"The motivation is great. Being with my teammates, maintaining the continuity of these medals (my second, the other was in 2014), and contributing one more gold to my country. Being here is a great joy and that is why, in addition to giving the young guys in this division the opportunity to wrestle with me, I also took photos with them. That's how I am".

And he finished his statements to put his sweater back on and ascend the podium. He sang his anthem, hugged the medalists and was once again the Mijaín of always, the one from the most culminating moments of Cuban sports for a decade.

Source: CubaDebate