Erislandy Álvarez after winning gold in Paris: "I fulfilled my promise to my grandma."

"I am very excited because I made my grandmother proud," he said in a conversation with accredited media at the Olympic sporting event.

Sports
CiberCuba Editorial Team

08/08/2024 - 12:15pm (GMT-5) |

Cuban boxer Erislandy Álvarez, winner of the Olympic gold medal in the 63.5-kilogram division, dedicated the victory to his grandmother, who passed away three months ago, precisely on the day the athlete qualified for Paris 2024.

"I am very excited because I fulfilled my promise to my grandmother," he said in a conversation with accredited media at the Olympic sports event.

"She passed away on the same day, May 31, when I qualified for these Games. It's as if she wanted to give me so much joy before leaving. That's why I worked hard; I had to make her proud," the boxer said with a choked voice.

Publication made by Erislandy on Instagram story on the day he qualified for the Olympics.

Álvarez won by split decision against the Frenchman Sofiane Oumiha (3-2), being superior not only to his rival but also to the audience that supported the local fighter.

"I had understood that I was told I had lost the first round, and that the second was even. That is the reason why I come out to eat him up in the third, without stopping throwing punches," he said in statements quoted by the official newspaper Granma.

Regarding the excitement of the attendees at the Roland Garros hall in Paris, he confessed that he focused on his opponent and his corner. "They were shouting, and I said: it's about me," he expressed, knowing that the support was directed towards the other fighter.

At last year's World Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Frenchman, silver medalist from Rio de Janeiro 2016 and three-time world champion (2017, 2021, 2023), had outperformed the Cuban in a close match.

"He beat me in 2023, and we are in 2024. A lot of things happened to me in one year, a lot of change in me. I was 24/100% focused on what I was doing and I always dreamed of this revenge... and I won it in his backyard," he pointed out.

With the gold medal from Erislandy and the silver from freestyle wrestler Yusneylis Guzmán, who lost in the 50 kg category against American Sara Ann Hildebrandt (0-3), Cuba rose to 21st place in the medal table of these Olympic Games, with two golds, one silver, and two bronzes.