Citas

“We have trained our sportsmen and women to serve their people, to bring joy to their people, glory to their people, honor to their people. We can say of our athletes, in the first place, that they have brought much glory and honor, great satisfaction and joy to our people. ”.

References to the original: Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz en el recibimiento a la delegación deportiva que asistió a Baltimore, efectuado en la Escalinata de la Universidad de la Habana, el 4 de mayo de 1999

"We have trained our sportsmen and women to serve their people, to bring joy to their people, glory to their people, honor to their people. We can say of our athletes, in the first place, that they have brought much glory and honor, great satisfaction and joy to our people".

References to the original: Speech given welcoming the Cuban sports delegation returning from Baltimore. University of Havana, May 4, 1999

"As I was saying, for a good part of the year our baseball players are the focus of attention of sports fans in this country. That is the truth. Baseball is to this country what soccer is to many others; it is as important as soccer is in many other countries. So, we need them here, in our country".

References to the original: Speech given of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the State Council and the Council of Ministers, welcoming the Cuban sports delegation returning from Baltimore. University of Havana, May 4, 1999

"You all know what is happening in sports. You know that we have athletes who are worth millions on the sports market. There may be the odd one who gives in and sells his soul for money, like a Judas –-to use a biblical example. However, it must be kept in mind that there are also a large number of athletes here who live modestly and whose incomparable dignity and love for their homeland and their people lead them to turn down any amount of money they may be offered".

References to the original: Speech given by DR. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba to the students graduating from the Havana Higher Institute of Medical Sciences, at the Karl Marx Theater on August 9, 1999

“Sports require discipline, and they teach children and young people a great deal about discipline, resistance, stability, perseverance and courage. They help build character and promote better health and physical and mental development”.

References to the original: Speech delivered by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, August 13, 1999

“To begin with, I will say that neither in the first or the second half of this century nor at any other time in history has a country done or achieved as much in sports as Cuba in an extremely short period of time. And it is a small Third World country, one that is additionally subjected to an economic blockade by the wealthiest and mightiest nation on Earth as well as to a thousand different forms of harassment and aggression”.

References to the original: Speech delivered by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, August 13, 1999

“An Olympic athlete is not a lowly instrument used to gain international prestige, an object to be bought and sold on the market, a commodity to be used and then thrown into the garbage. Athletes are, first and foremost, human beings, with mothers and fathers, spouses and children, brothers, sisters, friends and fans as well as pride in the recognition they have earned through their efforts and extraordinary merit. They have honor, above all, honor. Those who have never competed for money have competed and triumphed for honor alone. Honor is worth more than life, because life without honor is meaningless”.

References to the original: Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz en el Programa Especial sobre el Movimiento Deportivo Nacional e Internacional, el 3 de septiembre de 1999