Cuba’s Alberto Juantorena receives Doctorate Honoris Causa

In a private ceremony by family decision, two-time Cuban Olympic champion Alberto Juantorena on Friday received the Doctorate Honoris Causa, granted by the Manuel Fajardo University of Physical Culture and Sports Sciences (UCCFD).

“It was a debt we had. Our center of higher studies has always had a very close relationship with him, a historic bond, and this was a great act of justice and a great honor for us,” Rector Silvano Merced told Prensa Latina.

“We were able to exchange with him and he was, in his state of health, very motivated and active and he left us the message that we should never go backwards or to gain momentum,” he added.

Juantorena seemed happy and reminded him that the university, with which he always maintained a historic link and a very close relationship, was also his home, Merced said.

“Before his illness we were immersed with him in a project with World Athletics to create an academy here and install a synthetic track,” the rector added.

Juantorena is one of the most emblematic figures of Cuban and world athletics. His name was inscribed in the history of sport as a result of an unprecedented feat at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, when he became the first and only athlete to win the 400 and 800 meters flat races in the same summer event.

Born on December 3, 1950, in Santiago de Cuba, Juantorena began his sports career as a basketball player, but his destiny changed when he was discovered by Polish coach Zygmunt Zabierzowski, who saw in him an exceptional runner.

Beyond his achievements on the track, he has been a staunch defender of sports as a tool for social transformation, aligned with the principles of the Cuban Revolution.

As vice president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), he promoted sports development in Cuba and defended the model of amateur sport as a right of the people.

In addition, he has been a key figure in the International Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), representing the interests of Cuban sport on a global level.

Today, his name continues to resonate as a synonym for excellence, discipline and dedication, values that have inspired generations of Cuban and world athletes.