Alejandro Puerto

Alejandro Puerto Díaz ( born October 1, 1964 in Pinar del Río ) is a former Cuban wrestler. He was Olympic champion in 1992 and 1990 and 1994 world champion in each case in free style bantamweight.

Career

Alejandro Puerto began in 1976 with the rings. He belonged to the Sports Club Cerro Pelado Pinar del Rio and was mainly trained by Juan Caballero and Isidro Canedo. He devoted himself exclusively to the free style and wrestled at a size of 1.60 meters from 1984 always bantamweight. He studied sports. His career suffered as Cuba, the 1984 Olympic Games boycotted in Los Angeles and 1988 in Seoul.

The first launch of an international championship, he completed already in 1978, when he took first place at the Pan American Junior Championships in the weight category to 44 kg. Then he was only at the start, where he took back in 1982 at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Havana behind Emiro Marquez from Venezuela flyweight 2nd place. In 1983, he came at the Pan American Games in Caracas flyweight behind Ray Takahashi, Canada and Charles Heard, United States on the 3rd place. In 1984 he was in Las Tunas bantamweight champion. Among the Central American Championships before Joaquin Valdonado from Mexico At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, however, he was unable to attend because of the boycott these Games by Cuba.

In 1985, he was then first used at the World Cup. In Budapest, he came here in the bantamweight, which was won by Sergei Beloglasow from the Soviet Union, the 6th Place. In the 1986 World Cup, which was held again in Budapest, he missed with a 4th place behind Sergei Beloglasow, Georgi Kalchev, Bulgaria and Barry Davis, United States, only about a medal. In 1987 he won at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis before Robert Dawson, Canada and Jorge Olvera from Mexico. At the 1987 World Championships in Clermont- Ferrand Cuba did not participate.

In 1988 Cuba, although at a World Cup tournament in Toledo / USA in part, in which Alejandro Puerto ago Noh Kyung -sun, South Korea, won, but not at the Olympic Games in Seoul. He therefore had to watch for the second time in a row at the Olympic Games. 1989 incidentally started the Cuban wrestler then again at the World Cup in Toledo, in which Alejandro Puerto came to 3rd place behind Ruslan Karajew, Soviet Union and Charles Heard, USA. At the World Championships in 1989 in Martigny / Switzerland, he retired already from relatively early and finished only eighth place.

In 1990 he achieved his first really big success. He was in Tokyo world champion bantamweight before Rumen Pavlov, Bulgaria, Sergei Smal, USSR and Ahmet Ak, Turkey. At the beginning of 1991, he suffered a severe arm injury during a tournament in Las Tunas. Hardly wiedergesnesen he competed at the Pan American Games in 1991 in Havana and it lost to in the finals of the American Brad Penrith. At the 1991 World Championships in Varna then he could not start because of the effects of this injury.

He was fully restored in 1992 Pan-American champion again before Robert Dawson and Kendall Cross from the United States. In August 1992, he was finally able to then participate in the Olympic Games, namely those in Barcelona. He stood there in excellent form and won with victories over Nasser Ahmad, Pakistan, Andres Iniesta, Spain, Robert Dawson, Oveis Mallahi, Iran, Kendall Cross and Sergei Smal, CIS, the gold medal. He was not nominated for participation in the World Cup in Toronto in 1993. Here Jesus Wilson represented the Cuban colors. 1994 Alejandro Puerto but was at the World Championships in Istanbul at the start and won there before Mohammad Talae, Iran, Bagawdin Umachanow, Russia and Hidemi Hanada, Japan, his second world title.

In 1995, he lost in the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata vs. Terry Brands from the United States and took there the 3rd place. At the World Championships this year in Atlanta, he was far from his best of 1994, and only came to 14th place. Also at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta he could not build on its previous successes. He lost there against Saban Trstena from Macedonia, then won over the Australian Corey O'Brien and finally retired after another defeat against Mohammad Talae, whom he had defeated in the final of World Cup 1994, from. He landed finally in 15th place.

After these Olympics, he ended his international career Ringer.

International success

Notes

• All competitions in free style
• OS = The Olympic Games, WM = World Cup
• Flyweight, then to 52 kg Bantam weight to 57 kg body weight

Swell

• Journal The Ringer
• Website " Foeldeak Wrestling Database "