Cubans under other flags in Paris 2024: María Celia Laborde, the gift of perseverance

A decade after leaving her family in search of better living conditions, the Cuban María Celia Laborde will make one of her greatest dreams come true: to compete in the Olympic Games.

In Paris 2024, the judoka will attempt to wrap herself in glory representing the United States, the country that welcomed her since 2014, when she decided to leave the delegation from the island that attended the Central Caribbean competition in Veracruz.

As she mentioned in an exclusive interview with CiberCuba exactly one month ago, the person born in the province of Guantánamo was away from the big stages for almost eight years. However, everything changed when she received citizenship in 2022, and the results did not take long to arrive.

The talent remained intact… and the desire too. The conditions for training were optimal, and it only took a few months to achieve greatness under another flag: in 2023, she became the first representative of the North American nation to win a medal at the Masters Worlds since 2016.

Results of that caliber were not unfamiliar to her. She celebrated the bronze medal at the world event in Chelyabinsk 2014, in Russia, and was part of the women's team that achieved third place at the world event in Rio de Janeiro 2013, in Brazil. Always with the flag of Cuba next to her name.

She even recalled in the conversation that "she was practically qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games; she was in third place in the world ranking," but the "decision to stay" postponed everything.

In other words, debuting under the five rings is synonymous with carrying an aspiration for dozens of months and feeling that time passed without reaching that unknown goal.

But like a true warrior, María Celia raised the gift of perseverance, and right now, she is in France, focused on her first fight coming up on July 27 at the Campo de Marte Arena.

With his 48 kilograms of weight and 33 years in the biography submitted to the Organizing Committee, Laborde will fully commit himself to maximizing a story filled with optimism and patience. And, brimming with pride, he is part of the group of 21 Cuban athletes who will compete under different flags in the most important multi-sport event in the world.