Cuba rose to the challenge. Its liberating, emancipatory work made it so. From Céspedes to Martí, from Martí to Fidel and Raúl, the legacy continues to germinate in a people, from which exceptional human beings sprout: scientists, doctors, engineers, teachers, researchers, workers and officers… Women and youth carry on a history of commitment, as a starting point for new victories.
A deep sense of honor is born in this homeland. No matter how steep the slope or rugged the path, be the adversary faster, taller or stronger, the Cuban people put their hearts into the task. Beating hard on the track, on the wrestling mat, in the canoe or the boxing ring, the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen did not sleep for 15 days, as a people and its athletes dreamed and lived one of the most extraordinary performances ever of our island nation in the Olympic Games.
In Tokyo-2020, the mission was completed. Fourteenth place on the medal chart is a privilege that in 125 years only 36 other countries have earned. The competition was stiff and to conquer this ranking, for only the third time in so many years, seven gold medals were required, when the average in all previous events was 2.31, in an edition that refused to die – overcoming the pandemic, giving humanity hope and a lesson about what sports competition can mean. A record 93 nations made it onto the medal chart, the first time 90 or more were included, while a unprecedented number of 65 won a gold: a figure than never reached more than 57, the total in Rio de Janeiro-2016 and Atlan