Yasmani Copello, a Cuban field and track athlete, who has been competing under the Turkish flag for several years in the 400-meter hurdle race, stated that he has very bad feelings about Cuba.
In an interview with the sports magazine Play Off Magazine, Copello recalled his first experiences as a runner in Cuba, recounted the bad times he suffered as part of the national team, from which he was expelled, and told how he broke his personal best in 2021, Turkey's record.
“I get very bad feelings from Cuba, because They didn't recognize my work, and that was what hurt me, despite how disciplined I was. I can't say that I can dedicate even a little bit of the medal to Cuba, because they didn't believe in me. It is for me, my family and those who believed in me,” he said.
In his testimony, the athlete explained that his time on the Cuban representative team was full of bitter moments.
“I enjoyed what I did, but I didn't feel free to do what I wanted. “They demanded too much for what they had, they put pressure all the time,” he said.
Copello's history is full of sacrifices. After years of discipline and training with his first coach, Omar Demístocle - with whom he was from the age of 12 to 17 - he moved to the national team where another took credit for the training that Demístocle guaranteed him.
As he stated in the interview, at the age of 23 he was removed from that group with the justification that “they were going to make cuts.”
“I was national champion, the only one who beat me was Omar Cisneros and I was away on tour, I didn't lose to those from here. Sure enough, my coach came from there and told me that I had to cut back and that I couldn't continue. They had told him from above that I did not have the level to be on the team,” said the athlete.
Having been fired from the national team, Copello continued his training “with the rage of proving to them that they were wrong,” until he won several national competitions and they wanted him back on the team, something the young man rejected.
However, the young man opted for a Spanish club that had been interested in him, and continued his career in that country, later moving to Türkiye, where it is currently located.
"When you get the Cuban chip, everything is relaxed. There was a Cuban sprint coach who saw me in Rio, while I was warming up for the final of the 400 hurdles. He told me that he had seen me well, and asked me when I had the chance. final; I told him that in 40 minutes. He was surprised because he was not nervous, he was very relaxed," said the runner.
His efforts took him to Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016, where he won a bronze medal in the 400 meters hurdles, but he did not dedicate his victory to Cuba because they did not recognize his work.
As he recalled, on the podium he remembered all the problems he experienced in Cuba and everywhere and he began to cry. "They asked me what was wrong with me. I couldn't," he said.
Copello, who wants to be a finalist in a World Cup again, participate in the Olympic Games again and compete in the Diamond Leagues, said he felt happy and relaxed with his life, as well as grateful for those who gave him an opportunity to continue.
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