Cuba worried as talent deserts

HAVANA – For a tiny Caribbean nation, Cuba has a big reputation for its sporting prowess but that is increasingly coming under threat.

The impoverished Communist country has long failed to halt the flow of talent that escapes its homeland for pastures new and capitalist money. The latest high-profile deserters are three Olympic gold medal-winning boxers from Athens three years ago.Odlanier Solis Fonte (heavyweight), Yan Barthelemy (light-flyweight) and Yuriorkis Gamboa (flyweight) all fled in December while attending a training camp in Venezuela.”This news surprised me because they were well-known figures who had toured the world representing Cuba,” said one young boxing fanatic.The desertions provoked the country’s official newspaper Granma to denounce what it described as a theft of talent victimising Cuba.”In various Olympic forums, such as the National Assembly of Olympic Committees and the Pan-American Sports Organisation, Cuba has denounced the harassment that its sports suffer at the hands of unscrupulous dealers, which it describes as a theft of talents,” said Granma.It singled out the United States as the prime importer of sporting talent.”In most cases, the traffickers illegally transfer sportsmen to the United States whose authorities show indifference.”The Cuban denunciation took place just over a week before the beginning of the national championships.Granma called for a “thorough revision” of boxing on the island nation, intended to hold onto talent that was barred from turning professional in its own country but could do so by escaping Cuba.It is not just boxing which has been hit by this malaise, which sees fighters, such as current WBC lightweight champion and 1992 Olympic gold medallist Joel Casamayor, find their way to the United States to start up professional careers that are banned under the regime of Fidel Castro.Baseball has been badly hit with Jose Contreras, in 2002, and before that Orlando ‘El Duque’ Hernandez, in 1997, being lured by the millions of dollars on offer in Major League Baseball.Volleyball has also lost several top players to the professional league in Italy but perhaps what is most surprising is the talent flow leaving amateur sports such as judo.In 2003 Cuba’s formidable women’s team lost world medallists Danieska Carrion and Regla Leyen Zulueta, who both eloped to the United States.A year later, Carrion’s replacement Yamila Zambrano and the men’s fighter Angelo Gomez both disappeared in Spain, soon after winning medals, gold and bronze respectively, at the Pan-American championships.None of those have since emerged as fighters in their new countries and, regardless, would not be expected to earn a great living if they had.While not all sports can offer mega-money to those who escape Cuba, money is still a contributory factor.”If we gave them more money, I think a lot less sportsmen would leave for other countries,” said one former sportsman and coach who wanted to remain anonymous.However, not everyone is lining up to leave the country.Cuba’s greatest ever boxer, who was also Castro’s favourite sportsman, Felix Savon won six heavyweight amateur world titles and three Olympic crowns before retiring at the age of 33 following his Sydney 2000 triumph.But people such as Savon are increasingly becoming the exception rather than the rule in Cuba.Nampa-AFPThe latest high-profile deserters are three Olympic gold medal-winning boxers from Athens three years ago.Odlanier Solis Fonte (heavyweight), Yan Barthelemy (light-flyweight) and Yuriorkis Gamboa (flyweight) all fled in December while attending a training camp in Venezuela.”This news surprised me because they were well-known figures who had toured the world representing Cuba,” said one young boxing fanatic.The desertions provoked the country’s official newspaper Granma to denounce what it described as a theft of talent victimising Cuba.”In various Olympic forums, such as the National Assembly of Olympic Committees and the Pan-American Sports Organisation, Cuba has denounced the harassment that its sports suffer at the hands of unscrupulous dealers, which it describes as a theft of talents,” said Granma.It singled out the United States as the prime importer of sporting talent.”In most cases, the traffickers illegally transfer sportsmen to the United States whose authorities show indifference.”The Cuban denunciation took place just over a week before the beginning of the national championships.Granma called for a “thorough revision” of boxing on the island nation, intended to hold onto talent that was barred from turning professional in its own country but could do so by escaping Cuba.It is not just boxing which has been hit by this malaise, which sees fighters, such as current WBC lightweight champion and 1992 Olympic gold medallist Joel Casamayor, find their way to the United States to start up professional careers that are banned under the regime of Fidel Castro.Baseball has been badly hit with Jose Contreras, in 2002, and before that Orlando ‘El Duque’ Hernandez, in 1997, being lured by the millions of dollars on offer in Major League Baseball.Volleyball has also lost several top players to the professional league in Italy but perhaps what is most surprising is the talent flow leaving amateur sports such as judo.In 2003 Cuba’s formidable women’s team lost world medallists Danieska Carrion and Regla Leyen Zulueta, who both eloped to the United States.A year later, Carrion’s replacement Yamila Zambrano and the men’s fighter Angelo Gomez both disappeared in Spain, soon after winning medals, gold and bronze respectively, at the Pan-American championships.None of those have since emerged as fighters in their new countries and, regardless, would not be expected to earn a great living if they had.While not all sports can offer mega-money to those who escape Cuba, money is still a contributory factor.”If we gave them more money, I think a lot less sportsmen would leave for other countries,” said one former sportsman and coach who wanted to remain anonymous.However, not everyone is lining up to leave the country.Cuba’s greatest ever boxer, who was also Castro’s favourite sportsman, Felix Savon won six heavyweight amateur world titles and three Olympic crowns before retiring at the age of 33 following his Sydney 2000 triumph.But people such as Savon are increasingly becoming the exception rather than the rule in Cuba.Nampa-AFP