By Waldo Mendiluza
Friendship and mutual understanding, the education of youth through physical exercise and sports, and the development of moral qualities, as well as physical ones, guided the father of the Olympic Games of the modern era in his desire to build a better world, marked by peace and brotherhood.
Similar reasons drive a rapprochement between France and Cuba to support the island in its preparation for the event under the five rings in 2024 in Paris, the city where Coubertin was born in 1863 and will host the great summer event for the third time. just the second with that honor after London.
The Cuba Coopération France (CubaCoop) association added to its long list of projects based on the socioeconomic development of the Antillean nation, one related to the possibility that Cuban athletes complete training bases on French soil to reach the Olympic Games in optimal shape. of the City of Light.
The president of the organization created in 1995, Víctor Fernández, told Prensa Latina that the idea was gradually taking shape, until it materialized in conversations with diplomatic and sports authorities of the Caribbean country, mayors of communes and leaders of French federations.
It seems then that to the motto of the Olympism “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (faster, higher, stronger) could be added “Simul” (Together), giving it more sense of a spirit of brotherhood between peoples.
AN INITIATIVE OF LOVE
Fernández specified that the project consists of agreeing with French municipalities to welcome Cuban Olympic and Paralympic athletes from various disciplines, who would arrive in those locations before entering the Olympic or Paralympic Village, in order to train under the best conditions.
Staying in advance on Gallic soil would allow visitors to have friendly matches with local athletes, another important element of the initiative related to the event under the five rings, games scheduled from July 26 to August 11 for the Olympics and the August 28 to September 8 in the case of the Paralympics.
In recent months, Fernández led delegations from the association to Havana, where authorities from the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder) supported the collaboration and thanked it, based on its contribution in the preparation of athletes and para-athletes already adaptation to the schedule and climatic conditions of Paris.
About 25 municipalities in France agreed to be part of the project that extols the values raised by Coubertin long ago, thus demonstrating its full validity.
TREMBLAY-EN-FRANCE, PROUD HEADQUARTERS
Located about 30 kilometers from the capital, the town of Tremblay-en-France is one of those that gave its approval to the reception of Cuban athletes with their sights set on Paris-2024.
Excited and satisfied, the mayor of the commune, François Asensi, spoke with Prensa Latina about this possibility.
We are a sports city and also a true friend of Cuba, hence our willingness to receive athletes from the island, particularly boxers, he said. According to Asensi, the decision to support the Antillean nation on its Olympic path has already been made, and is of great importance because it is a world legend in boxing, with extraordinary results, a criterion endorsed by the more than 40 titles won under the five hoops
Cuban boxers will be able to train in our facilities with all the facilities, explained the mayor, a well-liked politician in Tremblay-en-France, where he has held office since 1991.
The city is located in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, home of the Olympic Village in the summer event.
Asensi declared that the attention to youth represents a priority for his management, for which he advanced the idea of linking the young people of Tremblen with the stay of the boxers of the largest of the Antilles.
Although the sport of the fists is the confirmed discipline for the eventual reception on Gallic soil of Cuban athletes, the mayor did not rule out others.
We know that judo is also interested in preparing for the Olympic Games in our facilities, in this sense we received in March in Tremblay-en-France the president of the Cuban Federation of that discipline, Rafael Manso, and we said «why not? ».
THE JUDO, PIONEER OF THE PROJECT
As a result of the efforts of CubaCoop itself, judo became the standard-bearer discipline of the Franco-Cuban sports fraternity, perhaps a prelude to the planned cooperation with a view to the Olympic Games.
At the beginning of the year, the island’s men’s and women’s teams completed a training base in Paris, which allowed them to compete in the Grand Slams in the French capital, Tel Aviv and Antalya.
In dialogue with Prensa Latina, the president of the French Judo Federation, Stéphane Nomis, expressed the will to support the preparation of athletes from the Caribbean country, of which he declared himself an admirer.
In this regard, he mentioned areas such as the exchange of coaches’ knowledge, the donation of resources and the development of a discipline with a long tradition and results in both nations.
The president of the local Federation, former judoka, multiple European and Grand Slam medalist in the 81 and 86 kilogram divisions, considered fraternity and rapprochement between human beings to be of great importance, above the logical spirit of competitiveness that sport generate.
The purity of the Olympic spirit has long been in danger, but not a few around the world act so that the ideals of the Baron de Coubertin live forever.
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(This text is part of the Scanner section: deep journalism of Prensa Latina and includes multimedia content)
