Mercedes Rodríguez Caballero, wife of the renowned former Cuban judo coach Ronaldo Veitía Valdivié, died this Saturday, the Pan American Confederation of that sporting discipline reported.
“On behalf of the executive committee of the Pan American Judo Confederation and the entire Pan American Judo community, we offer our condolences to Professor Ronaldo Veitía Valdivié and family, for the death of his wife, Mrs. Mercedes Rodríguez Caballero,” said the organization on your Facebook wall.
“Our prayers light the way to Mercedes’ eternity. Rest in peace,” he added.
Veitía, 74, served for 30 years as coach of the national women’s judo team, which led to a total of 24 Olympic medals, five gold, nine silver and 10 bronze, which made him the coach of judo with the most medals in the history of these games.
Until now, the causes of his wife’s death have not been revealed.
The A. Kolychkine Judolocutora Foundation shared several photos of the couple and sent their condolences to Veitía.
“Professor, please know that all the judokas in our organization offer you our support and appreciation to overcome such a bad time,” wrote Pedro Kolychkine.
“Master Veitia, we send you a big hug, wishing you to keep wonderful memories that give you strength to continue and that transform the pain that now accompanies you into a light of hope. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your entire family,” he added the post.
In 2018 Veitía was inducted into the World Judo Hall of Fame in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The recognition was awarded by the International Judo Federation (IJF) for his extraordinary contributions to the discipline, which place him among the sports stars of all time.
After his farewell to sport In January 2016, he continued working on a community project with his son René, in the Santa María del Rosario neighborhood, in the Havana municipality of Cotorro, aimed at training children and adults.
“When I retired, they wanted to change everything. They modified, they turned my training systems upside down. They wanted to erase me, without knowing that ‘he who forgets the story, orphans the future, “he told CiberCuba in 2018, when asked about the poor performance of the Cuban judo team in the Central Americans of Barranquilla that year.
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