Ana
Fidelia Quirot retires at ceremony attended by Fidel Castro
AP
3 March 2001 - Havana – Former 800m world champion Ana Fidelia Quirot was one of the three Cuban sports greats who retired from competition Friday during a ceremony headed by President Fidel Castro, which honoured the island's best athletes of the last century.
Quirot was accompanied by heavyweight boxer Felix Savon and Olympic volleyball player Mireya Luis. They all received diplomas and trophies for their athletic achievements from Castro, who wore his trademark olive green uniform.
Beforehand, high-ranking government officials also paid tribute to the rest of the best Cuban athletes of the 20th century. The 100 were chosen by a public survey conducted in January by the daily newspaper Granma, which asked readers to chose from a list of 400 Cuban athletic greats. More than 300,000 people responded, according to Castro, who read the list of winners.
With the new gold medals that other Cuban athletes will win in the future "I think that we could cover this coliseum in gold,'' Castro said in a brief speech at Havana's Sports City, a covered sports complex that holds about 20,000 spectators. "More than look to the past we should talk about the century beginning,'' Castro said. "How many more medals we will win in the next 100 years.''
The Cuban leader said that the country won six Olympic gold medals between 1900 and 1959, the year of the triumph of the Cuban revolution. Since then, Cuban athletes have garnered 51 gold medals, he said.
Quirot, who suffered a severe burn over much of her body in 1993, is a two-time world champion in the 800 meters. She also is a two-time Olympic medallist, winning the bronze in Barcelona in 1992 and silver in Atlanta in 1996.
"The time has come to live a normal life with my family,'' Quirot, 38, told The Associated Press. Now the mother of two, Quirot said she would gladly work as a trainer or another position offered by the sports institute.