Trujillo reversed his decision. That is something to be grateful for

In the midst of the celebration for the fifth Olympic gold medal of the one and only Mijaín López, the head of the technical team of Cuban Greco-Roman wrestling, Raúl Trujillo, said that he was also putting an end to his career at the highest level.

However, after receiving the affection and gratitude of the Cuban public, he decided to reverse that decision, and it is truly appreciated.

Despite his small stature, he never goes unnoticed, because with those lively eyes, he is attentive to any detail and does not miss a thing.

This man from the municipality of Pedro Betancourt, in Matanzas, breathes grabs and imbalances from all sides, although his beginnings were linked to basketball. But when he finished his training in the court, he went to the mat, which was what he was truly passionate about.

After a short career as a wrestler (he was a bronze medalist at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico in the 57 kg division), injuries devastated his knees and at just 23 years old, he was dropped from the national team.

Shortly after, he began his working life as a coach, and due to his results in the 1980s, he was coach of the national youth team, where he was in charge for over a decade of all those who later became world and Olympic medalists in this century.

After completing missions in Panama and Portugal, he was named methodologist of the National Commission and after the death of Pedro Val, the father of Greco wrestling in this country, he took over as head coach.

His jovial and humorous character helped him to face the media, with whom he does not feel completely comfortable, but he wins them over with that nobility that comes from every pore of his body, and because he always speaks with his heart at hand.

“As a coach, you cannot feel like the center of the world,” is perhaps the phrase that best defines Trujillo, always looking for new training methodologies, a scholar who shows that it is not always necessary to leave the country, but to dedicate oneself entirely to studying and applying science and technique.

He gets especially emotional when he talks about his family, the main reason why he thought about leaving the mats, because there are too many moments at home that he misses and that cannot be recovered with anything, but his high sense of responsibility tells him that he cannot throw in the towel, that Cuba wants to continue vibrating with his deeds.

May these lines serve in some way to pay tribute to all those coaches who, with more or less results at any level, between sweat and tears give the best of their lives for Cuban sport, far from ideal conditions to play their roles the best they can.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff