The canoeist Serguey Torres, Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020, revealed that the Cuban regime awarded him only 100,000 Cuban pesos —equivalent to about 500 dollars at that time— as a reward for winning the Olympic gold medal.
The athlete described the figure as insufficient and disgraceful for those who dedicated years to high-performance sports.
Torres made these statements on Wednesday in the podcast La Familia Cubana, as reported by Swing Completo. The athlete from Sancti Spíritus, born in 1987, spoke candidly about the financial incentives received by Cuban athletes and the gap between the sacrifices demanded and the actual rewards.
"When we went to the Olympic Games, they paid us all $460 for going and returning, and for the Olympic title, 100,000 Cuban pesos. At the exchange rate at that time, we're talking about $500. I won't lie to you. There is discomfort with that, and it’s a sensitive issue that isn't discussed with complete transparency," Torres stated.
Torres and Fernando Dayán Jorge won Cuba's first Olympic gold in canoeing in the C-2 1000 meters event, with an Olympic record of 3:24.995. Prior to this victory, the Island had only achieved three silver medals in this discipline, the last one in 2004.
The canoeist also described how the monetary restructuring of 2021 destroyed the incentives that elite athletes previously received. Before that reform, athletes earned 1,000 CUC for winning a World Championship, 2,000 CUC for the Pan American Games, and tiered prizes for silver and bronze.
"There was a time when we received 1000 CUC for winning the World Championship or a World Cup, 2000 for winning the Pan American Games, and 1000 for silver and 750 for bronze. But everything changed with the restructuring in 2021," he recalled.
The hardest blow came with the conversion of the lifelong salary received by Olympic champions. Torres explained that their 300 CUC monthly—which was sufficient to cover basic needs—was converted at a rate of 1x24 to 7,200 Cuban pesos, an amount that today is not enough for anything.
"I had a lifetime salary of 300 CUC per month, which was quite a bit of money and covered basic needs. An Olympic champion or anyone could live on that amount. But it changed to 1x24, and you went from having 300 CUC to having 7200 Cuban pesos. You all know what that amount means today. It’s not money. That's the truth. It’s not like it was before," he stated.
Torres's statements come at a critical time for Cuban canoeing. In July 2026, nine of the 12 members of the Cuban canoeing team deserted, and at least one athlete left the delegation at the Games in Santo Domingo 2026.
Fernando Dayán Jorge himself, Torres’ Olympic teammate, defected in Mexico in March 2022 and competed in Paris 2024 under the Refugee Olympic Team.
Torres did not shy away from the human aspect of the problem and pointed directly to the hypocrisy of the system. "What a person wants most is for their profession to cover their basic needs, and that is difficult."
"It may hurt some people's feelings, but it's the truth," he said, concluding with a blunt criticism: "If they know how much one lives on the street, they are fully aware, and it’s a bit hypocritical not to measure the rules as they are."
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