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Irolán Echevarría, a decorated coach in Cuba and the region, died after a long disease on 11 December, his 74th birthday.
Echevarría ran the 110m hurdles for Cuba at the 1962 and 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games. He took a coaches course in the former Soviet Union and co-led the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay teams with his friend and former sprint hurdler Lazaro Betancourt to two historic silver medals at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
Four years later, he coached the women’s 4x100m relay squad and his wife Silvia Chivas to bronze medals at the Olympic Games in Munich. He also led Andres Simon to the 1989 60m world indoor title in Budapest.
“On behalf of the NACAC and APA, we would like to extend our condolences to the Cuban athletics family on the passing of our friend Irolán Echevarría," said NACAC and APA President Víctor López.
“More than a friend and colleague, he was like a brother. We shared lots of experiences on sprint coaching and celebrated his athletes’ successes together,” he added.
Echevarría also coached in México. Health problems forced him to retire from coaching in 2005. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
