Sotomayor: "Maradona has one of my world record shoes"

July 29, 2020

The world record holder in high jump, Cuban Javier Sotomayor, expressed feeling happy and proud to maintain the world supremacy of 2.45 meters, which the day before completed 27 years since it was established.

The Olympic medalist and multi-champion Cuban exposed a picturesque anecdote that features the one from Fiorito, a friend of his for several years.

Javier Sotomayor, former Cuban athlete, Olympic champion and multi-champion in high jump, revealed an anecdote previously unknown that involves Diego Armando Maradona, with whom he established an affectionate relationship several years ago, and his world record in Salamanca, Spain.

"Diego and I are great friends. Since the first time he came to Cuba, to undergo his treatment, I met him and even now we have a very good relationship. In fact, at his last official match, at La Bombonera, I was there, because he invited me. I always admired him, even before knowing him. I always said he was one of the three people I dreamed of meeting," Sotomayor said on Súper Deportivo Radio by LT10 and Radio Villa Trinidad.

When asked in depth about his encounters with number 10, the Central American filled his testimony with details and decorated it with a striking fact: "When I met Maradona, the admiration I had for him doubled when he told me that he admired me and knew about my sports career. That made me admire him much more. The first time we saw each other he gave me a jersey and I remember I went to his house. Besides, he has the pair of my shoes, when I achieved the world record in Salamanca. I gave him that the second time he came to Havana. And I have several of his jerseys. Having as a friend the greatest athlete of all time makes me feel very proud."

Upon his arrival in the country, to be part of his farewell match, Sotomayor truly understood what the figure of the star meant to the Argentine people. "There I really grasped what Maradona is and the large number of followers he has in Argentina. La Bombonera was full, there were many people at the farewell dinner. I had a great time. Diego is a great person, and I say this because I met him and talked to him. With his way of being, some who don't know him are detractors of his personality and it's not like that, but those of us who are lucky enough to know him I can tell you that Diego is very human, very intelligent, even though for many it may not seem that way," he concluded.