In July 1987, Aliuska López Pedroso he had not turned 18 on April when he devoured the 100m hurdles at 12.84 seconds during the Zagreb Universiade. Does that tell you little? So read carefully what follows: since then, only four! athletes under the age of 20 have been able to surpass that mark. Simply awesome.
To her youth world record, the girl from Havana would later add a series of attractive conquests in a icing on the cake turned out to be the triumph at the 1995 Under-Roof Universal Event. Finalist in two of three Olympics, Fourth in the 1993 planetary fair, three times gold in the Pan American Games, his long career of two decades ended up crowning as the best Cuban short fence runner of all time.
The arrival of the 21st century saw her settle on Spanish soil, and for this country she competed in her last seasons on the tracks. Cordial and diligent, right from there he agreed to hold this exchange with CiberCuba.
You set two youth world records in Zagreb, but then you couldn’t get close to the senior mark. Do you feel that your progression stopped, or was it that those times of the Bulgarians Zagorcheva and Donkova were simply unattainable?
-I don’t think my progression stopped. At that time there were high level runners with a lot of potential, especially physically. These were other times, where unfortunately we did not go on equal terms, because they were the times of ‘everything is worth it’. But I was in world and Olympic finals and that makes me consider that I had very good results.
Do you still think that the biggest thing of your career was the return to the Pan American Stadium in Havana in 1991, with your whole family applauding you?
-It wasn’t the biggest thing I did in my sports career, but it was one of the best moments I lived. This moment of seeing a stadium full like never before, people applauding, shouting your name, and above all seeing my father’s face with a smile and his eyes with tears of joy … I grew up running through these lands , because the stadium was built in what was the courtyard of my house, where my cousin Iván Pedroso and I did athletics skills since I was a kid.
How could a spiky athlete like you win a 60-meter hurdles world final?
-I wouldn’t even know how to answer this question myself. It was a very clean race technically. This year I got into great athletic form at the World Cup, we had done a good preparation and we did several competitions that helped me gain confidence. I’ve never considered myself a good starter, but I had my days off and this was one of them. Normally my forte was the last fences, but I will tell you that sometimes the first ones ran better and at others I lacked a bit of strength, as happened to me at the Sydney Olympics. The truth is, the 60 with fences made me very short.
How bad does it hurt you not to have won an Olympic medal?
-Every athlete’s dream is an Olympic medal, so if I say it doesn’t hurt, I would be lying. But I am very satisfied with my sporting achievements, because every time I went out on the tracks I gave my all. I think that having participated in three Olympics and getting a fifth and a sixth place is not an easy thing, because that’s why you have to stay in shape over three Olympic cycles and make the injuries respect you. Honestly, I am more than satisfied.
Once you decided to emigrate to Spain, you lived the experience of competing under another flag. Did you feel weird or did you assimilate the change easily?
-First of all, I am very grateful to him in Spain because he opened the doors for me to continue competing and see athletics from another point of view. Now, I’ll tell you that for me it wasn’t the same feeling as when I was competing for Cuba. It was like I was missing something. A different feeling, to the point that I never got to adapt to this new condition. However, I repeat to you that I am very grateful to this country.
Why, if you emigrated from Cuba legally after marrying a Spanish citizen, did it take 16 years for you to return to your homeland? I read that it was all because you came out with an official passport, but do you think this deserved such a long sentence?
-Today, I still don’t have an answer to this question. No one has ever told me the reason for these 16 endless years of not being able to enter Cuba and see my family. It was 16 years that I got lost in my father’s life, with which I could barely be after 15 days because he was just waiting for me to leave happy. It is very sad that he has not yet had an answer.
In an interview you said that “Cuba forces you to miss.” Did the idea of returning for good ever occur to you?
-My whole family lives in Cuba, so one day I hope to return to my country for good.
What city do you live in now?
-I live in Asturias and work at the Oviedo Athletics club with children aged 9 and 10. I also give guided activity classes in a gym.
Who has been the best Cuban fence runner of all time? In what order would you place those who come after?
-All of us who have gone through the fence school have had our moment. To tell you an order would be unfair, but for me for his strength, his knowledge of being on the tracks and his touch of madness, I think the best has been Anier Garcia. This, without detracting Dayron Robles, Emilio Valle, Alejandro Casañas and the girls of the 100 with fences.
Would the Cuban fencing school have been just as glorious without Santiago Antúnez?
-Each coach has his booklet, and there were many very good ones like Heriberto Fernández, one of the best that Cuba has had. But what I am sure of is that for me Santiago is the best, and that if I started my sporting life again he would still be my fence magician.
What do you think about Cuban athletics today?
-For many years outside of Cuba and high-performance sports, I don’t know what’s going on right now in athletics and Cuban sports in general, but I imagine it’s stopped the quarries, in the EIDE, the municipalities, the provinces, that were fundamental part of the catchments. The little I have seen when visiting Cuba is the deterioration of sports facilities, the lack of tracks to train children and the lack of motivation. The territories do not have the necessary conditions, and I do not see the athletes as this union that existed in my time, when we were all a big family.