Fidel motivates swimmers to cross Matanzas Bay.
The Matanzas Bay Crossing represents one of the most important massive sports events of the Cuban Athens, with the presence of 74 swimmers who reedited this Saturday the open water event on the occasion of the 98th birthday of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz.
The Matanzas Bay Crossing represents one of the most important massive sporting events of the Cuban Athens, with the presence of 74 swimmers who reedited this Saturday the open water event on the occasion of the 98th birthday of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz.
The contestants started from the old Port Captaincy in the Bay of Matanzas with final destination at the Tennis Beach of the People’s Beach Council in a 2.5-kilometer course that was won by the young engineer Alberto Javier Oliveros Pérez, a worker of the Telecommunications Company S.A. (ETECSA).
Organized by the Open Water Club Los Cocodrilos del Tenis and the Government of the territory, the crossing of Matanzas Bay encourages fraternization among swimmers, while promoting the practice of physical exercise and healthy recreation in the summer.
In the 54th edition of the event, swimmers between 12 and 82 years of age participated, but the winners were Oliveros Perez, a lanky young graduate of the University of Sciences, who during his social service at the provincial radio station Radio 26, where he is remembered with special affection.
In a telephone conversation with the outstanding swimmer, he said that the crossing is a challenge to the human will to overcome, a feeling instilled in the various generations of Cubans by Commander-in-Chief Fidel, who defied his time and led a triumphant Revolution in January 1959.
Matanzas Bay is the second deepest bay in Cuba with 546 meters at its mouth and an extension of 14 kilometers (km) long by seven km wide. The San Juan, Yumurí and Canímar rivers flow into it, crossing the City of Bridges and offering a unique natural and architectural beauty.
Photos taken from Alberto Javier Oliveros’ profile.
Written by Odalis Oriol Miranda.
