The enthronement of commercialism in sports, without leaving out Olympism, strengthened the theft of muscles and awards. Also doping. Without denying the use of the latter by systems that should not have done so, to show development with the aim of praising the general progress of their nation. This harmful trap, to the health of athletes, came to hurt the image of officials who used it and of the territory represented by them. There were collapses and beyond the agonistic. In this text I wish to refer more emphatically to thieves and I promise to deal with the other scam later on.

Thieving then: many true winners have even had their gold medal stolen with this damned trick and even if they discover it, many times many years have passed before the medal reaches the hands of the one who deserves it, and its true owner has lost the satisfaction of getting on the podium in the same competition. In addition, the fair decision has not always been known by fans and the people as it should be. The vindication of hammer thrower Yipsi Moreno is an example.

Now I’m going to the den of thieves. Well, Open Sesame. Emphasis on those who were very famous in the Olympic Games. In the marathon race the harvest is huge and it started early. In Athens 1896 they captured Velokas or Belokas, who came third, and in that position was placed who was his owner: the Hungarian Gyula Kellner. However, the reason for the change was left unclear, apparently due to the offender's use of a shorter path than stipulated or assistance received. The venue was not to be harmed.

The North American marathon runner Fred Lordz was also exposed in San Luis 1904. He was chased and even stoned by a group of fans when the truth was known: he had ridden in a friend's car for several stretches. His compatriot Tom Hicks was declared the winner. He did not deserve it either: he had been helped by some people and they even injected him with a stimulant substance. The political silence in order to remain unmarred the venue of the competition. This action harmed our Félix ‘Andarín’ Carvajal: he occupied the fourth place: he should have been promoted to third.

There’s more: Algerian Mohamed El Ouafi won the marathon crown for France in Amsterdam 1928, after failing four years earlier in Paris: he finished seventh. His life ended several years later in a fight between beggars in the French capital: a fellow misfortune-stricken athlete stabbed him to death to steal the coins he had in a plate. His compatriot Alain Mimoun brought glory to the French metropolis in Melbourne 1956 in the longest distance of Athletics . Mimoun had a beautiful record sheet, but his life is far from that beauty. Talent separated from virtue is mired in mud.

In Berlin 1936, a competition stained by Nazism, the winner and the bronzed contender of the marathon were Kitei Son and Shoryu Nam. Both were born in Korea: Kitei's real name, Sohn Kee-Chung; Shoryu's, Nam Seung Yong. Both represented Japan in the event in the German capital while the Japanese invaders were doing horrors.

This swindling has grown exponentially; in the Olympics, at the same pace as the advance of injuries caused by business. It’s already very common and, in one way or another, it’s made official by authorities. Regarding the case, Fidel expressed on September 29, 2000: “We dream of the day when a European country does not look, very Nordic, very white and blue-eyed, whose competitions are carried out with Kenyans, Nigerians, Ethiopians or citizens of other countries, as well as with Cuban citizens who have been stolen.”

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff