A Cuban weightlifter who found refuge in Canada in 1987 and was barred from participating in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games due to the boycott of the Castro regime, was able to realize his dream through the mediation of two of his children who knocked on the door of the Paris Games 2024
Ciro Ibanez, nine-time Cuban heavyweight champion, gold medalist at the 1983 Pan American Games and 5th place finisher at the 1983 World Championships in Moscow, capitalized on his return from a flight between East Germany and Gander (Newfoundland-et-Labrador). Competition to escape and apply for refugee status.
At the time, flights from Europe to America stopped at Gander to refuel and he took the opportunity to escape from the Cuban team.
In Montreal he reunited with three-time Olympian Denis Garon, who finished sixth at the 1988 Seoul Games and with whom he had developed a friendship over the years. After more than ten years in Spain and France, Ibanez returned to Montreal in 2012 and founded the Beyondlifting Club in 2018, where he and his wife train the next generation.
“The dictatorship lasted 64 years and I didn’t take part in the Olympic Games, but I try to give back to others what I didn’t have,” says the father. I’m not the only one who got hit. Boxer Teofilo Stevenson should have won two more Olympic titles. »
Stevenson, a three-time Olympic heavyweight champion including 1976 in Montreal, is considered one of the greatest boxers in history and died of a heart attack in 2012 at the age of 60.
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
Abigail Guerrero Gonzalez, Emily Ibanez Guerrero, Ivy Marie Buzinhani Brustelo, Brayan Ibanez Guerrero and Ciro Ibanez pose during a workout.
World Champion
After an initial stay of eight years in Canada, Ibanez, who obtained his Canadian citizenship in 1996, followed the call of a former Cuban colleague and joined the Catalan Federation as technical director, where in 1998 he met his wife Abigail Guerrero Gonzalez, who won the Crossfit world title championship in Montreal in 2019.
He then joined the French team and guided Vencelas Dabaya to fourth place at the 2004 Athens games. Dabaya won world gold in 2006 and silver in 2008 at the Beijing Games.
“We still talk to each other every week and he came to Montreal to give lectures. »
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
Ivy Marie Buzinhani Breastelo in action.
Late Beginnings
Although she only started weightlifting in 2019, Rosalie Dumas ranks second in Canada at 81 kg.
Along with her 16-year-old brother, Brayan Ibanez-Guerrero, she was selected to be part of the Canada team that will compete in June’s Havana Grand Prix, first selection for the Paris Games.
There’s also the youngest, Emily, who wrote a page in the history of the teenage world and dreams of the games.
However, due to her age, she will have to wait until 2028.
“Because of all the sacrifices my parents made, I want to represent my family at the games and win an Olympic medal,” says Brayan. I train hard every day to reach my goal. I’m living in the moment and my head can’t make it to the 2028 games.
Rosalie sees to 2028.
“Like the Dufour-Lapointe sisters in freestyle skiing, if all three of us could compete at the 2028 games it would be truly incredible. I will be 32 in Paris but I will not close the door for 2028 knowing in which sport. Getting back into sport in 2019 is a dream come true as a little girl and it makes the kid in me happy. It’s never too late and that’s why I chose it. »
A proud father
Ibanez is very happy with his offspring’s progress and remains realistic.
“I’m proud of them but I’m worried because it comes with a lot of pressure and discipline. The games stress me out a bit, but it’s their choice. For Brayan, I think 2024 is too early and the possibilities are slim, but anything is possible if you have a goal in mind. »
A page of history for a 12 year old
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
Emily Ibanez Guerrero
After her older brother secured Canada’s first medal at the World Youth Championships last year, the younger sister, just 12 years old, became the event’s youngest medalist a few weeks ago in Durres, Albania.
The youngest competitor, Emily Ibanez Guerrero, was unfazed by her 16- and 17-year-old opponents.
” I’m very happy. It wasn’t a surprise to be the youngest. I really fought for my medal. It wasn’t easy because of the age difference and the adversities, but I wanted to be like my brother who won a medal last year and who is my role model. »
With a combined 177 kg, she achieved a personal best that allowed her to win bronze.
Gymnast Ibanez Guerrero quickly turned to weightlifting at the age of 5.
“When my brother left, I wanted to go too,” she explains. I took my brother as an example. I really enjoy individual sports and competing against myself. I like the adrenaline pumping when I’m under the bar. »
From age 6
The girl, born on December 27, would have had to wait another year if she was born five days later. Only athletes born after 2010 were eligible to participate. There were no girls under the age of 16 among the 12 participants in the under 55 kg class.
Even if she can manage the necessary weights, she will have to wait until the age of 15 before she can compete in the World Junior Championships.
Emily started weightlifting at the age of six. Some might think it’s too young, but his mother and coach Abigail Guerrero Gonzalez says important work has been done leading up to it.
“A lot of work was done before lifting weights. Emily has been serious about weightlifting since she was eight. At 9 and 10 years old, she lifted small weights, which greatly favors the technique. At this age, preparation is more important than strength. I have been coaching children since I was 25 and the parents trust me. »
His brother in fifth place
Brayan, the first Canadian medalist in 2022, made the jump to -81kg hoping to match his standard to stay on the Canadian team ahead of the Havana Grand Prix, which will be held in June.
Disappointed with his fifth place, however, he reached a total weight of 298 kg, which earned him an invitation to the Grand Prix.
Another member of the Beyondlifting club, Ivy-Marie Brustello Buzinhani, was crowned in the -40kg category.
When leisure becomes passion
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
Rosalie Dumas training in Montreal.
The desire to pursue a family activity to be closer to his younger brothers and sisters as well as his father could open the doors to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Although her father has been weightlifting since he was 13 and has had a glittering career in the colors of Cuba, Rosalie Dumas had never touched a weightlifting bar prior to 2019.
Six months later, the family business took a completely different turn.
“I wanted to share an activity with my brother and sister and get closer to my dad,” says Rosalie, who started lifting at age 27. I got in shape and saw that I was fine. From March 2019 I set myself goals and started with two training sessions a day. »
Dumas holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Montreal and a master’s degree in project management from the University of Barcelona and has postponed her entry into the labor market to qualify for the Paris Games.
second in the country
“I haven’t had a week’s vacation since September 2019,” she says. At my age I don’t have a 50% chance of going to the Olympics. My whole life now revolves around weightlifting. I don’t drink alcohol and eat as healthily as possible. I sleep 10 hours a day and my lifestyle is 100% focused on my training. It’s almost like military life, but it’s my choice. »
His commitment and discipline are paying off. At a competition in Nova Scotia, she beat Olympian Kristel Ngarlem with 87 kg.
“When I decided to push after my first qualification for the Canadian Championship, I spoke to my father about the Paris Games,” she says. He told me that it was possible, but that I would not get anything for free. »
On his journey to the City of Light, Dumas is now evolving in the 81kg category. At the Canadian Championships in Ontario on May 19-21 and in June in Cuba at the Havana Grand Prix, Dumas will compete against Maya Laylor, who is currently the best Canadian at 81 kg.
The Ontario native lifted 238 kg at the Pan American Championships in Argentina a few weeks ago, while Dumas lifted 235 kg in Nova Scotia.
“I can’t wait to get face to face,” she says. It’s motivating to be so close to her. I don’t want to beat them by 1kg because I need 245 or 250kg to be in the top 8 in the world and have a chance to qualify for Paris. It motivates me. I need to improve my technique. »
background questions
His progress at high speed raises questions in a sport whose image has been tarnished by numerous doping cases over the years.
“Questions do arise, she admits, but never directly in my face. I have no problem with presenting the results of my doping controls. »