Mercedes Pomares, a former volleyball player and member of the legendary team known as the Morenas del Caribe, passed away at the age of 70 and was laid to rest on Wednesday in Havana.
The First Vice President, Raúl Fornés Valenciano, led the posthumous tribute from the Cuban sports movement to Mercedes Pomares, as reported by the official news portal JIT on Facebook.
La Zurda de Oro, as she was known, passed away this Tuesday in Havana. She was one of the pioneering players who paved the way for the most glorious era of Cuban volleyball.
The passing of the exceptional athlete, a member of the first generation of the Morenas del Caribe, was confirmed by Osvaldo Vento, president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER), with the causes remaining unknown.
Mercedes Pomares was born in Majagua on May 21, 1954. She stood 1.81 meters tall and was a member of the first Espectaculares Morenas del Caribe, as noted by the Facebook profile Manos Morenas Del Voley Peruano.
The athlete was named the best attacker of the World Cup Japan '77 and the World Championship for Seniors Soviet Union '78, where Cuba won the world championship for the first time in its history.
In his career, he won gold medals at the Pan American Games in Cali '71, Mexico '75, San Juan '79, and Caracas '83.
Captain of the Cuban national team, she also won the silver medal at the 1977 World Cup in Japan.
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