Ronaldo Veitía exalted among the Immortals of World Judo

September 19, 2018

On September 18th, the International Judo Federation (IJF) honored 19 names to the Hall of Fame of their discipline in a striking and elegant ceremony held at the Buta Palace in Baku, among them Cuban coach Ronaldo Veitía, the third Cuban to achieve entry into this exclusive venue.

In an extremely beautiful building that constitutes one of the main music centers of this city, the gathering with great judokas and coaches of all times became an unforgettable moment to realize for the fifth time a tribute "to those responsible for helping to take the sport to new heights in their respective countries, as a testament to character, self-discipline, honesty and integrity," in the words of Marius Vizer, head of the IJF.

Seated at Table 5 with his wife and the president of the Cuban Judo Federation, Rafael Manso, the former coach for more than three decades of the female national team received the diploma and the Jigoro Kano figurine that accredit him as one of the Immortals from the hands of José Humberto Rodríguez, Director of Development for the Americas of the IJF.

Before taking the stage, those attending the event were able to enjoy a 30-second video with photos and accounts of the professor's greatest moments, born in the municipality of Cotorro, in Havana, who was barely able to leave an exclusive statement for this reporter at that moment: "thanks to Cuba and to judo I am a happier man today."

With this new induction, those privileged with the high honor of being in the Hall of Fame reached 48, and what is distinctive on this occasion is that seven countries (Canada, United States, Hungary, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Tunisia, China and Azerbaijan) joined the 14 that already had at least one representative; although Japan, of course, continues to be the most numerous with seven, followed by Great Britain with six, while Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, Cuba and the debuting Azerbaijanis each have three.

"This is an award that I owe to all the students I have had, who taught me to love this sport and to my family, who made great sacrifices throughout the time I directed the national team," Veitía commented exclusively amid an emotion that postponed dialogue about this recognition for the coming hours.

The highest historical award delivered by the IJF was received this year, among others, by American Rusty Kanokogi, recognized as the mother of judo, local Ilham Zakiyev, gold medalist at the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, as well as North Korean Kye Sun-Hui, four-time world champion and titleholder under the five rings.

Olympic champions Héctor Rodríguez and Driulis González were the two Cubans inducted into this Hall of Fame in 2013 and 2015, respectively, although according to several specialists present at the Artistic Gala, at least three more names have backing to be proposed in coming years.

Choral music from local artists, two bands well-known in Europe and an atmosphere of great camaraderie and respect reigned at the ceremony, which ended just before midnight, 24 hours before the start of the world judo championship in the Azerbaijani capital.