Three Cuban Sports Glories Lose Their Lives in Recent Days

Three Cuban sports glories passed away last week, generating a sense of mourning among the sports community on the island.

The digital site JIT highlighted some aspects of them, among which their integration into the "revolutionary sports system" stood out.

Abel Sarmientos, a former Cuban volleyball player, passed away in Havana at the age of 61, immersed in poverty and oblivion.

Member of a generation that led Cuban volleyball to climb the top positions in the world, he was an extraordinary attacker of the national team for 14 years, from 1981 to 1994.

The official press highlighted from him the World Cup scepter of Japan 1989 and the runner-up positions in the World Leagues of 1991 and 1992.

On the other hand, Cuban handball player Imara Valdés passed away on Friday morning at the age of 38.

A member of the national handball team, apparently Imara lost the battle against cancer, leaving behind two young children.

JIT highlighted her subtitle at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro 2007 and crowns at the continental competitions in Havana 2010 and the Central American and Caribbean Games in the Dominican Republic 2006.

While less information is available about Juan de Dios Machado, only the information provided by JIT has been provided, in which they mention that "he ventured into professional circuits and after the triumph of the Revolution, he remained linked to the Cuban Sports System."

To everyone, the president of the Cuban Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER), Osvaldo Vento Montiller, dedicated a message published on the social network X:

We accompany in their grief the family and friends of the Cuban sports legends Abel Sarmiento (volleyball), Imara Valdez (handball), and Juan de Dios Machado (professional boxing), who passed away in the last few hours.