Salamanca. 1993. Javier Sotomayor He prepares, runs, takes several giant steps and jumps what a human being has never managed to jump in history: 2 meters 45 centimeters. It was there that the Cuban’s name was inscribed in gold letters, not only in the history of sport but also in the history of humanity itself. Officially no one has jumped more than the Cuban athlete because even today, in the middle of 2021, the The world record for the high jump remains for Sotomayor.
Javier, who later achieved Spanish nationality, adds world records both outdoors and indoors and of course an Olympic gold, a silver, several world championships in different modalities, the Prince of Asturias Award and several golds in the Para-American Games. Translation: he won it all. For that reason, talking to him is talking to a sports phenomenon. Libertad Digital has been able to chat exclusively with one of the best athletes in history about his past, present and future.
Question: How are you personally? Are we going to be lucky enough to see you around Spain a lot soon?
Answer: I am very well, as is the whole family. At the moment I am here, in Spain. I will stay for about a month and then we will return to Cuba in March. Later, between May and summer, I will alternate going and coming back.
Q: How has this pandemic that we are all suffering worldwide lived?
A: Too bad the truth. In Cuba it is also taking its toll. Also, now I am a coach and the coronavirus is something that conditions us a lot when it comes to training. We have many limitations.
Q: About that role as coach, what would the athlete Sotomayor say to the technical Sotomayor and vice versa?
A: Very easy and very simple, I hope I found an athlete as good as Javier Sotomayor was in his day (laughs).
Q: On a physical level, how do you feel after a lifetime dedicated to elite sport?
A: Luckily I have been able to keep up physically by exercising and at 53 years old I feel fine. Obviously there is some discomfort, especially due to the hernia that I have and when I try to do something improper in relation to the intensity, I do notice some pain in the knee or ankle. But outside of that, I take care of myself and I have no major problems.
Q: Is it difficult to control yourself now with that intensity after being an athlete who always sought excellence and limits within your sport?
A: The truth is that I never practice sports now looking for that limit. What does happen to me is that sometimes playing basketball, for example, requires a specific effort and it is difficult to measure the limit of your body. That causes that there are days that take their toll on you.
Q: Lately we see that the records in many sports are being broken, but we look at yours in high jump and nobody can beat it. It remains invincible.
A: It is a great source of pride, of course. Every day, every month or every year that passes makes me even more proud of what I achieved in his day. I cannot deny that as more and more time passes I feel very happy.
Q: I was told once that there are two types of athletes. There are those who always want to have their record and hope that no one surpasses them and there are the athletes who are not so aware of that and hope that someone younger can surpass them. What group are you in?
A: It is not that I care, because the day they surpass me I will not feel bad or unhappy, especially because I am aware that the records are to be overcome, but it is also true and I have to admit that I am very happy because they have so many years have passed and I’m still the best. It is a tremendous pride to be the person who has jumped the most in the history of humanity.
Q: We always ask you for those athletes who are close to your records. The one who seems closer is the Qatari Mutaz Essa Barshim. How do you see this or other possibilities?
A: Yes, the truth is that in recent years it has been the one that has been closest with its 2.43 to the 2.45 that I achieved in 1993. Now it has to reach 2.46, which is the record that must beat to overcome me. Also the Ukrainian Bondarenko is close with his 2.42. It’s always going to be complicated. What I do feel is that as time goes by it will be more complicated for them, because in athletics the physical and the passing of the years takes a lot of toll. They are old enough to do it, but time is passing and that makes the future even more difficult.
Q: Would Javier Sotomayor have made a better mark on his record with the current technology that athletes now have at their disposal?
A: I can’t say for sure, but I think so. You just have to see the difference in the medical part. Before to recover from an injury, you could spend months of treatment and now it can be solved in days or a few weeks. Everything has improved including the tracks, the training sessions, the facilities … I honestly think so. Surely it could have jumped an inch or two more than that 2.45.
Q: At the level of nostalgia, how do you live without that adrenaline rush that the competition gave you?
A: Every time I have the opportunity I play sports, especially with my children, and that reminds me of the past. So from time to time I notice that nostalgia. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t like to look at sports newspapers a lot (laughs).
Q: You mentioned your children. Will we have a saga?
A: Well, there is one who at 13 … we are going to try to get him a little closer to his father (laughs)
Q: Prince of Asturias Award in 1993. For you, Spain is an important part of your life. What does Spain mean to you and how do you see the country in these times when it seems that everything is negative?
A: I have many things to thank Spain for. It has been an honor to have achieved two of my world records on Spanish soil. I also won gold at the Barcelona Olympic Games, two World Indoor Games and I was also awarded the Prince of Asturias. And of course they granted me nationality. I feel this country as my second homeland because of what I gained here, because of the friendships I have and because of the time that I have spent and spend in Spain. How do I see the country? The truth is that I do not believe that there is only a negative or pessimistic thought in or about Spain, all countries are suffering and more with this virus that has affected us all socially and economically.