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Invasive Newspaper – Online newspaper of Ciego de Ávila

Jorge Martínez Wilson, the best judoka in history in Ciego de Ávila due to his competitive results, does not know pride and lacks any desire for prominence, despite his 10-year tenure in the national team.

He has shown it in his sports career: when he extended his hand to a friend, when at some point he said “let him go, who is better positioned in the ranking, I’ll stay” or when, off the mat, he does not hesitate to share or help any of your rivals. He does not know resentment, because “resentment is a bottomless abyss and cannot be well regarded by any person”.

• In 2017, he was chosen as the most outstanding athlete in the province in individual sports.

The last victory over one of the rivals in the 81 kilograms (kg) division was at the Champions Gala, held in the city of Cárdenas, Matanzas, where he defeated Yaser Baeza by disqualification.

One, who has observed him since he started in sports when he was about 11 years old, knows the fiber of that boy who, at 29, does not stop dreaming in the search for better results, although for him a sports career it has always been full of obstacles, between falls, injuries, injustices, defeats and victories.

Not long ago, Jorgito, as those closest to him call him, spoke to this reporter for the first time.

—Moments of greater enjoyment within the sport.

—The first time I won the absolute senior championship, which happened in 2009, when I was fighting in the 73 kg division. After the years I climbed to 81 kilos, where I treasure the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Lima 2019, and the silver medal at the World Cup in Belgium, in 2013; also the team gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia. My victory was decisive in that result.

—At 29, nothing is finished in judo. What does it take to stay in the elite?

—A lot of dedication, discipline, intelligence and take care of my injuries.

“What has been your most cherished dream?”

—Obtain an Olympic or world medal. I can’t stop dreaming.

“What great successes do you imagine?” What do you see in your future?

—I haven’t given much thought to the distant future, but to near goals and how I prepare to face them. Right now I just won the Champions Gala, but I will be where I need to be and I think it’s useful. They are 10 years in the team and almost a lifetime in judo. It is difficult to detach.

“All falls are painful.” Do defeats put you off? How do you enjoy the victories?

—Defeats hurt because one prepares and trains for victories. One embraces defeats bitterly and gets the best experience out of them. I enjoy the victories in cold blood, because I think that the rival could also obtain it.

– How is the preparation in the national team?

—We train in two sessions a day, judo in the mornings and physical preparation in the afternoons. Between both activities we add six or seven hours. It also depends on the stage in which we are; if there are competitions, the preparation is shorter and with greater intensity.

—The qualification to an Olympic Games makes you elusive.

—The qualification to the next Olympic Games, in my division, is almost impossible. Financial problems affect a lot and there are athletes from other divisions better placed. I don’t think I have had many opportunities. I have stopped participating in many competitions and when you do not meet the elite you do not reach it. Time passes and the opportunities are less and less.

—What is the state of health of Cuban judo?

-It’s good. He has several boys and girls who want to impose themselves. The talent exists, what there is is to work and compete with the world’s elite, something that due to economic problems we have not done.

“How does Jorgito relax off the tatami?”

—I listen to music, dance and watch television series.

“Why judo?”

—I was a very active boy and I loved everything that had to do with combat sports. The judo gym was close to my house and one day my friends from the neighborhood cheered me up. And here I am.

—Let’s go back to the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. I think you could beat Medickson del Orbe, from the Dominican Republic.

José Meriño / Prensa LatinaWhen he obtained the bronze medal in the last Pan American Games in Lima, Peru

—I expected that victory, because I prepared myself to the maximum, and my coach and I drew up a very good tactical plan that I was following to the letter, but there was a moment of carelessness in the golden score and that’s when the victory went away. You know how things happen. Contrary to what many think, Medickson has a very high competitive level. He does not train in the Dominican Republic. I say this without wishing to justify defeat, but it is the truth.

—The Japanese, creators of this sport, are a reference in world judo. How many Japanese have you faced?

—I had the opportunity to face two Japanese, with one victory and one defeat. You always learn from them. They know how to conduct combat with controlled mastery and aggressiveness. You can go ahead or behind, they seem immutable and, when you give them the slightest opportunity, you are a dead man. They know when to attack, at the right time.

“What is a training camp and how many have you participated in, alongside which famous judokas?”

—It is a concentration of judokas from different nations; that is, they fight in training with the same rigor as the competition, although without a referee. Nobody wins or loses. I have had the opportunity to be in two training camps in Germany and Hungary, together with great figures, such as the Greek Ilias Iliadis and the 10-time world champion, the Frenchman Teddy Riner.

“What is your Tokui Waza (preferred technique)?”

—The seoi nage and the kosoto gake; however, I dominate others.

—What has Ivan Silva from Matanzas, one of the strongest rivals you’ve had inside and outside the country, mean in your sports career?

—I faced him for the first time in 2013 and I beat him, in a Cerro Pelado Cup; then we saw each other again in the National Championship that same year and I beat him again. If I tell you something, you don’t believe me: in official competitions he has never beaten me, but he is a great athlete, very combative, talented and intelligent, with a very high technical level. For me he is the best Cuban judoka today and one of the best in the world in the 90 kg division.

“We know each other very well and, honestly, I tell you that if we were to face each other again I think the victory would be his. Unless it was neglected. (Laughs)

“It has helped me to grow as a judoka and I think I have helped him in something. We had a very big rivalry on the tatami. Often times the blood of both appeared in the combats; personally we get along well. “

Jorge Martínez Wilson, graduated in Physical Culture, four times champion of Cuba in 81 kg and once in 73, has the warrior vocation of the Spartans. He seems to want to win it all and feels like he hasn’t won anything yet. You know it well, because there are no appetizers in judo, especially for those who dream of Olympus.

• We also suggest the interview Jorgito and the confidence in his ippons.

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