14ymedio, Mexico City, August 14, 2024 — The images of Chilean President Gabriel Boric adjusting the microphone of the Cuban Olympic medalist Yasmani Acosta, who competed in Paris with the flag of the South American country, have gone around the world. His warm reception at the Palacio de la Moneda contrasted with the gloomy one that the athletes of the Island received in Havana; they had to settle for an airport in the dark and a rally without an audience.
Boric celebrated the athlete from Mantanzas, as one of the Chilean delegation also applauded Acosta, a silver medal winner in the 130 kg category of Greco-Roman wrestling. Along with the applause from his teammates, the Cuban hugged Boric too intensely. “And that’s why they didn’t give him a key,” immediately joked the gold medalist in skeet shooting, Francisca Crovetto.
Acosta stressed in his speech that he felt “welcomed” by the Chileans, without whose support he would not have been able to compete in the Olympic Games. “I felt indebted, and I wanted to give a medal to the country,” said Acosta in the Plaza de la Constitución at the end of the ceremony.
Boric celebrated the athlete from Mantanzas as one of the Chilean delegation
Jokes aside, it was the money earned by Acosta that most impressed Cuban fans in their home country. With the medal comes $46,000, Chile’s prize for its triumph in Paris. In addition, the Government will grant him a monthly scholarship of 2,692,303 Chilean pesos – about $3,000 – until the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028.
“What a joy to see how the people of Chile are thanking Yasmani (…) They can’t imagine how our chests swell with pride when we see our athletes, and everyone, our entire Olympic delegation,” Boric said.
In Paris, Acosta was shot down by his fireproof compatriot Mijaín López, famous not only for his triumphs – five consecutive Olympic golds – but for dedicating them to Fidel Castro and other authorities of the regime. Miguel Díaz-Canel’s speech never explained how Cuba will reward its most loyal five-time champion. In the absence of money, there was talk of “patriotic pride,” and he announced that López will go “from champion to teacher,” by now dedicating himself to training young fighters.
In Spain, the Olympic medalists received a total of 2,892,000 euros divided among all, and part of the sum corresponds to the Spanish nationalized Cuban triple jumpers, Jordan Díaz and Emmanuel Reyes, who will receive 94,000 and 30,000 euros respectively.
The Spanish nationalized Cuban triple jumpers Jordan Díaz and Emmanuel Reyes will receive 94,000 and 30,000 euros respectively
Spanish President Pedro Sánchez congratulated Díaz on social networks after he won the triple-jump gold medal. The Cuban exiles, along with the rest of the medalists, have been honored without hesitation by the Spanish press, which calls them “Spaniards of Cuban origin.”
On the other hand, the absence of a mention of The Prophet, as Reyes is known, in Sánchez’s congratulatory messages has not gone unnoticed, and several Spanish media speculate that there could be an ideological motive behind it. Reyes is very critical of boxer Imane Khelif, the Algerian protagonist of the great gender controversy, after her victory over the Italian Angela Carina in 46 seconds.
In Poland, the Cuban volleyball player Wilfrido León, who guided his team to win the silver medal, will be awarded with 107,000 zlotys – which is equivalent to $27,000 – in addition to a diamond, a painting that he can choose to his liking and a vacation voucher, according to the Lublin ESKA radio station.
Despite the fact that the Santiagan Pedro Pablo Pichardo said he was “unmotivated” after obtaining the silver by falling in the triple jump final against Jordan Díaz and announcing his retirement, in Portugal, his host country, the press reports that on Monday the Olympic medalists had a welcome “apotheosis” at the Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, in Porto.
In addition, more than 800,000 people watched the Cuban win his medal at the Olympic Games on public television. It was the most watched broadcast among the medalist athletes according to an audience analysis.
In Poland, the Cuban volleyball player Wilfrido León, will receive money, a diamond, a painting and a paid vacation
Andy Díaz, the other Cuban who mounted the triple jump podium, was greeted with applause at the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome for his bronze medal. Upon his arrival, people approached to greet him and ask him for a photograph, while he was escorted by a group of carabineros (gendarmes). “I promised Italy that I would get this medal, for everything they did to help me become an Italian citizen,” he told the press.
Meanwhile, the bronze medalist in boxing, Javier Ibáñez, said that he feels the affection and recognition of Bulgaria, his adoptive homeland. “Many people write to me and approach me on the street and say that they are proud of me. My family had mixed emotions,” he said at a press conference upon his arrival from Paris.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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