Nicknamed “Fatty ”Īna Quirot (Keer-OAT) was born in the suburbs of Santiago de Cuba, in the country ’s Oriente province, in 1963. When she is remembered, however, it will be less for her revolutionary ideals than for her outstanding achievements on the track. ” Indeed, Quirot ’s exceptional career has served as an example of both the perils and the pleasures of life in a country that has been spurned by captialist nations worldwide. The runner told the Los Angeles Times: “I believe that I am a symbol of the Cuban revolution, of its achievements in education, in medicine and sports … I will be ready to serve the Revolution any way and at any time. Some stars like Quirot serve as unofficial ambassadors for their state, espousing the ideals of the nation ’s revolution and The success of Cuba ’s athletes has been important to the socialist country on many levels. Today, Quirot is a certified mythological hero who can hardly move through Havana without attracting admirers, particularly children. A New York Times Magazine correspondent observed that the indomitable runner ”represents to Cubans their own struggle with adversity. Once the fastest woman in the world at both 400 meters and 800 meters, Quirot overcame devastating burns to a third of her body to win a silver medal in the 800 meter race at the Atlanta Olympics. Chief among the Cuban track and field stars of the last decade is Ana Quirot, whose brave comeback from a potentially career-ending injury was the talk of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Only ten million residents strong, Cuba is able to boast Olympic medals and world championships in sports as varied as boxing, baseball, and track and field. She also won the 800 in the Atlanta Grand Prix meet in May.For the tiny island nation of Cuba, sports championships are a means to establish international stature. Last year, Quirot marked her successful return to international competition by winning the world 800 title in Goteborg, Sweden. The scars on her face, arms and hands are healing but still evident. It would take most of the year, one of searing pain, repeated skin grafts and surgery, before she could train again. Quirot’s former husband, freestyle wrestler Raul Cascaret, died in a car accident. Doctors induced labor to save the baby, conceived with her then-boyfriend, star high jumper Javier Sotomayor. Like many Cubans do every day, Quirot was using a kerosene cooker to wash clothes in her kitchen when the fire occurred.Ī mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water, which she was using to wash her clothes on the stove, flowed over the lip of the pot, down the sides and burst into flames.įor weeks she lay near death at Havana’s Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, burns covering a third of her body. The former world champion in the 800 meters and 1992 Olympic bronze medalist has made a miraculous comeback from a 1993 fire that took the life of her unborn child and nearly her own. “The whole world wants me to win.”Īna Fidelia Quirot already has. But inside, I’m a little restless,” she said. But it doesn’t mask a fierce will to win that once saved the Cuban runner’s life and now has her bound for the Olympics. Self-effacing jokes about men, her privileged friendship with Fidel Castro.
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