Last year he went to the Commission of Attention of Athletes to request a change of housing, and they argued that there was no housing fund.
14ymedio, Havana, August 5, 2025 — Roberto Limonta Vargas, “La Piedra” (The Rock), is experiencing “abandonment and oblivion.” The history of the retired wrestling multi-medallist joins that of other athletes who have been relegated to the shadows by the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER). In three decades none of the promises made to him by the authorities after his retirement have been fulfilled.
“When I retired from the national team in 1995, I was promised many things: a change of house, a vehicle… but none of that has happened up to today,” Limonta told retired athlete Roly Dámaso. “Nobody remembers; no one responds,” he says, to the requests he has made to the authorities.
La Piedra lives among the nostalgia of his achievements, in Santiago de Cuba, on the fifth floor of a building in the Abel Santamaría neighborhood. It’s a nightmare for a man with two hip prostheses as a direct consequence of his life in sports.
Last year, the wrestler posted on the Facebook page for DPorto Sports LLC that he approached the Athletes’ Care Commission to request a change of housing, because the injury prevents him from climbing the stairs, but the authorities said that “there was no housing fund.”
The Olympics portal recognizes his career in the category of 90 kilograms, in which he won the national championship 15 times, as well as two medals at the Central American Games and three others at the Pan American Games. He also has five gold medals in the Pan American Championship, six silver and four bronze medals in World Cups, a fifth place at the Olympic Games and multiple trophies in Grand Prix tournaments and international preparatory events.
Despite his physical limitations, Limonta keeps his spirits up and, supported by a walker, he manages to take some steps. Limonta sees with sadness the case of the coach of the five-time Olympic champion Mijaín López and other medalists, like Raúl Trujillo. Despite his achievements, Trujillo was given a car with more than 190,000 kilometers on it and worn-out and mis-matched tires, three 14-inch and one 16-inch. Yilian Rondón Velázquez, the captain of the Granma and Cuba softball team, was given a run-down house of poor construction, that appeared more like a warehouse.
A similar case is boxing champion Idel Torriente Sáez, who a few months ago denounced the lack of attention. “They have me on the sidelines waiting for me to retire,” said the coach, who survives on 7,690 pesos monthly (approximately $20 at the current informal exchange rate).
Torriente spends his days at the Casino Deportivo, in the municipality of Cerro, Havana. In 2022 the Kid Chocolate and judo boxing gym was reopened, where they placed a ring and a punching bag. However, the site requires gloves, shorts, bandages and helmets. “We lack many things -sports equipment, transport, food: the sport of boxing has gone downhill.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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