CAMAGÜEY.- Due to the extraordinary variety of disciplines in which our athletes have managed to reach Central American, Pan American, World and Olympic podiums, many specialists call Cuba "the Island of sports."
The Camagüey family can boast of being a bastion within this sporting movement, in the world top since the second half of the last century.
Within the enormous constellation of stars, hundreds of women shine who made physical activity a way of emancipation, empowerment and personal fulfillment.
There are many Camagüey's women, so many that if we tried to mention them all, we would commit more than one injustice by omission or ignorance, because not only those who have hung medals on their necks deserve reverence.
Since the sport left private schools and clubs to become popular law, talents have not stopped being discovered in our province. In this process dozens of coaches and teachers take part, some with the category of legend, such as Cándida Jiménez, mother of Camagüey's women's volleyball .
Among so many valuable jewels, we dare to select one of the most successful podiums in history in our territory.
THE SPECTACULAR BRUNETTE
Photo: Otilio Rivero Delgado/ AdelanteOn the highest step I would put the poetry of volleyball: La Reina, Mireya Luis. Discovered in one of the most intricate corners of the Vertientes municipality, she did not have all the physical gifts to reign over the net, but within her she brought the spark reserved for phenomena such as Maradona, Jordan, Isinbayeba or Polgar.
Luis won almost 50 individual and collective titles at the highest level, including five world crowns and three Olympic crowns between 1989 and 2000, the decade in which she commanded the spectacular Morenas del Caribe.
After her memorable retirement, Mireya has held different positions as federative and in the International Olympic Committee. She has not yet been born such a dominant volleyball player, capable of challenging the tallest defensive towers with only 1.75 meters tall.
Her Inder places her among the 100 best Creole athletes of the 20th century, and the prestigious ESPN network in seventh place in the top 20 for women of all time.
AGRAMONTE'S FURY
The second seat is reserved for an iron lady with the soul of a kiss, never better given the nickname by the journalist Julita Osendi: La Furia de Agramonte.
Photo: Leandro Pérez Pérez/AdelanteYipsi Moreno is a symbol of Cubanness, due to her character, perseverance and example.
Central Caribbean, continental and world champion, she thought she would retire without touching the maximum glory, but in 2016 the justice awarded her the gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, after it was discovered that the Belarusian Aksana Miankova had achieved it with the help of doping.
If her trajectory was significant on the tracks, she is being as significant or more so outside of them, because she guides an excellent generation as National Athletics Commissioner and since 2018 she is a member of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba . The same firmness that she distinguished her in active, takes her to the parliamentary level to the pride of her countrymen.
EFFECTIVE AND ELEGANT CAPTAIN
She closed the ladder with another dancer from the boards, the girl who shone as a soloist in Professor Eugenio George's orchestra.
Photo: Taken from CubadebateYumilka Ruiz does not keep as many collective awards in her window as Idalmis Gato, another illustrious woman from Camagüey of those brunettes, but she knew how to hold Mireya's staff as leader and captain.
As effective as she is elegant, Ruiz commanded the last golden generation in Sydney 2000 (she had already won in Atlanta '96) and the Pan American Games in Rio '07.
More than a dozen individual awards in high-ranking leaderships she garnered in her career, mainly in attack and service.
After leaving the courts, she has served as a member of the IOC Athletes Commission and a contributor to the international volleyball and baseball federations.
This would be the award box, a symbol of hundreds of Camagüey's women who have dedicated their lives to sports and have also given thousands of joys to the people who follow them. They represent the height that a woman, a Cuban athlete, can reach when passion drives her flight.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez