Omara Durand announces her retirement from the track after the Olympics

July 14, 2024

One of the attractions of the Paralympic Games will be the presence of the phenomenal Cuban sprinter Omara Durand, who will seek to expand her legend in Paris at events under the five rings.

With the goal of dominating the 100, 200 and 400 meter races, the 32-year-old from Santiago trains hard at the Panamericano Stadium in La Habana. Our team arrived at that facility. Speaking with her, her guide, and her trainer was the reward of the visit that confirmed the determination and optimal form of the elegant duo of runners.

"There's not much time left until the Paralympic Games, less than two months. I start competing on September 2. I will participate in seven races: two in 400 meters, three in 100 and two in 200. In that order, I will participate in the Paris Games," Omara clarifies as she begins her warm-up.

"The preparation is going well at this moment," she says and mentally reviews the routine.

"We are focused on the final details, especially on the technical aspects of the races. We are preparing hard to arrive in optimal physical condition and deliver the best competition possible.

"Now, we have to disciplinedly follow through with our work. Stay focused on this last stretch and wait for the Games to arrive," she comments.

What details are you working on?

-Everyone knows that at the Parapanamerican Games, Yunior and I were disqualified in the 400 meter event for releasing the guide before crossing the finish line. That is one of the things we are emphasizing. In addition, we're working on arm swing, running form, reaction at the start, the first steps, especially in the 100 meters, which is the fastest event.

"That disqualification is now forgotten, but it leaves us with the experience to not make the same mistake. We can't think about something that already happened. That's thirteen gold medals in Parapanamerican Games compared to one we lost. It's not significant. It doesn't affect a career of so many years."

You announced that you're retiring after Paris 2024. Are you sticking with that?

-Yes. It's certain. After the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, I will no longer be in active sports. I've been doing this for many years. In my athletic career, beyond the achievements I've obtained, it has brought me physical consequences.

"I have aches and pains that I have to deal with every day. I've been away from my family for quite some time. My daughter, Érica, is now in pre-adolescence and I think it's time to be there for her, for her to have her mother's presence by her side.

"I want to do other things in my life. Study a little more, improve myself. I will never completely distance myself from sports. Wherever Paralympic sports are, it will always have my support. And above all, the athletes."

What has been the best moment of your athletic career?

-All the beautiful moments I've lived have great importance. I couldn't tell you that I enjoyed one moment more and another less. Each one carries sacrifice, effort, dedication time. I've enjoyed them to the fullest and I'm taking them with me until the day I no longer exist.

How much of Miriam is in Omara?

-A lot. She has worked with me since I was a child, fifteen years old, and now I'm 32. I'll be turning 33 on November 26. I've spent half my life with Miriam. She has been a school and a school means a lot.

"She's been with me in all moments. In the good ones, difficult ones, intense, exciting, complicated... Most of my results, not to be absolute, have been thanks to the work Miriam has done with me.

And Yunior, your guide?

-I owe him a lot. He came into my life nine years ago. It has been a blessing. I'm grateful to Miriam for bringing him to work with me. My best athletic results have been with Yunior. And they will continue that way until the end and after the end.

"We are very good friends. He's a brother that life gave me. We have very good relations. That empathy between us has led to the results we achieve on the track."

How does Omara want the Cuban people to remember her?

-I'm going to make an effort until the end to maintain my status as a Paralympic champion. I want the people to remember me as the best Paralympic athlete in the world, the fastest, the speediest, the one who, in her final moment, achieved the best results. I must thank them because I know there are many people who feel respect and follow my athletic career.

Yunior and Omara are one. You see them warming up together, doing their exercises, then the races and stretches. It's the daily routine they do over and over again, with the same enthusiasm and perfect synchronization.

If Omara needs a rest, Yunior is there and if he needs one, Omara is there. The complicity is mutual. She, from Santiago, he from La Habana.

Suddenly, they burst into the stretch and laugh as they prepare for the next lap. 'Omara, don't cut my finger,' Yunior tells her as he helps her cut tape to put on her feet, from the friction with the synthetic board. He has been her eyes on the ground for almost a decade. And he has guided her well.

Specialists say Omara and you are a very elegant duo. How do you achieve that?

-From the very beginning when we started working together the relationship was excellent, our communication flowed inside and outside the track. We are friends, brothers, like family. We get along great. That's the only way a teamwork can succeed. We are a duo and for things to work out, there has to be a good relationship inside and outside the track.

How did you come to work with Omara?

-It all started in 2015, through our trainer Miriam. She talked to me and proposed that I come work to help in Omara's category change, from T13 to T12.

"I was an athlete on the national team. The coach knew my characteristics, it seems she saw in me what she was looking for and she wasn't wrong. In my case, I knew it was a difficult challenge, because Omara was already an athlete with great results. But we tried and we've been at it for almost 10 years.

"I had never worked with an athlete with a disability, and I was conventional. Omara had never had a guide either. It was new work for both of us, but so far it has gone the best way possible."

Do you think the role of the guide sometimes takes a back seat?

-That's not important to me, because working with Omara has been a unique opportunity that life has given me. I'm very proud to help her achieve the results we've obtained.

"Very happy with my role. We hope to finish on a high note at these Paralympic Games."

How is training going for Paris 2024?

-Well. We are putting the finishing touches. We feel fit physically and mentally. We work on the small details so everything goes right.

"On the technical side we refine elements of strength, preparation... We also prioritize the physical aspect to avoid injuries, because there are many races. We want to arrive at one hundred percent in all events."

A few minutes ago, we were talking with Omara about the disqualification in Santiago 2023. How did you recover from that incident?

-We didn't expect to go through something like that. It had never happened to us, but these are things that happen in sports. It hurt everyone. Us as athletes, the coaches, our families... But it's in the past now. It's behind us. What we need to do is work so it doesn't happen again.

Do you have a preference for any particular result with Omara?

-Yes, for Rio de Janeiro 2016. It was a difficult competition. They were my first Olympic Games. She was dealing with an injury, but everything went well. We set three world records. It's a competition I will never forget.

When Omara retires, what will happen to you?

-Omara's retirement is a good decision. It was made, above all, because of health issues. For her young age, she faces many, just like I do. Furthermore, we've been in high performance for quite some years.

"I think family comes first. We've made sacrifices and been away from family for quite some time. It's time to rest, to dedicate time to the home. I'm thinking of retiring too, spending more time with my loved ones and venturing into something else."

Miriam Ferrer has trained Omara since she was a teenager. Together they have built a mother and daughter relationship, always with the appropriate demands and respect. 'Miriam is very much Miriam,' as Omara would say. Both know each other very well.

"Omara is an extraordinary athlete, very disciplined, with a lot of willpower. She is combative, a friend, a daughter, a mother... She is the best you can find in a person," Miriam assures as she times the second stretch.

"Above all, she is very simple. For a reason she has achieved everything she wanted and has gotten to this moment. I've had her in my hands since she was 15 years old and now she's 32. I've been working with Omara for half my life," Ferrer recounts, who was also the trainer of Yunidis Castillo.

"Omara is as if she were another daughter that I have. She is a phenomenal athlete. And not only as a Paralympian, I also highlight her among the Olympians. She is an example to follow."

I understand that you selected Yunior to work with Omara. What did you see in him?

-Talent and dedication. Together with Omara he has made a great duo, the best in the world. He is a brother to Omara. They get along very well in their personal life and, at work, they are one.

"When he started, we had few difficulties with Yunior, because he picked everything up quickly. The two are very similar: quiet, simple and they look good. Very elegant."

What elements do you work on in the preparation?

-The preparation for Paris 2024 is going well, there are no difficulties whatsoever. We work on speed, since Omara is a little older now. It's not the same speed as when she was 20 or 25 years old, she's now 32.

What do you think about Omara's retirement?

-I haven't officially sat down with Omara to tell me: 'Miriam, I'm done'. But we have discussed it and at this point it's the decision we've both made. She thinks she'll retire after the 2024 Paralympic Games. That's how it is.

"I was going to retire along with Omara, but other athletes are asking for me. I'm glad, because they've told me they need me. I'll be here still, although I don't know for how long. But for now, I'll stay to work with the athletes who come in."

Omara and Yunior on the track, always under the watchful eye of Miriam. Together they have marked an era in world paraathletics. Times that we will miss in a few months, but the legend will remain.