Havana, April 30 (JIT) «Congratulations to Antonio Muñoz and Dr. Cs. Iván Román, who received the Honorary Title of Labor Heroes of the Republic of Cuba from the hands of Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic.
This is how the head of Inder, Osvaldo Vento Montiller, wrote in his account on the social network X, which represents pride for the Cuban sports system.
Muñoz, known as the Giant of Escambray, has been a participant in great moments of Cuban baseball, to which he remains linked at 75 years of age, especially in teaching children in Cienfuegos.
The charismatic home run hitter and first base defender was the first player to reach 300 home runs in national baseball series. In 24 editions he hit 370. He was selected among the 100 best Cuban athletes of the 20th century and inducted into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.
Román, an octogenarian doctor of science and Honoris Causa winner from the Universidad Deportiva del Sur, in Venezuela, is considered the father of strength exercises in Cuba. The professor has an extensive bibliography.
Ambassador of Peace in Sports (2006), he has a commendable scientific, biographical and social work that has been published in the books Iván Román Suárez, entre Ciencia y Fuerza (2010) and Halón de Alto (2018).
His sporting career includes having been head coach of the Chilean national weightlifting team, with an achievement of 47 national records and several international medals in 1973; strength preparation advisor to the Saudi Arabia team in the 2006 Soccer World Cup; president of the Technical Committee of the Pan American Weightlifting Confederation between 1991 and 2003; and member of the Technical Committee of the International Weightlifting Federation.
They join the more than 40 workers of the Education, Science and Sports Union who have received the Honorary Title, among whom Alcides Sagarra stands out, creator of the boxing school that has brought so much glory to Cuba.
This Monday, Cuba awarded its highest title, Hero or Heroine of Labor of the Republic, to 19 men and women of high lineage and illustrious work in culture, the armed forces, sports, workshops, the furrow and many others. work activities.
In a solemn ceremony in the Laguito Protocol Hall, in Havana, the Lázaro Peña Order of the First Degree was also awarded to 12 workers and two vanguard groups; the Second Degree to five workers, the Third Degree to five workers and two prominent union leaders, and the Jesús Menéndez Medal to a worker and a group.
On July 21, 1983, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz placed the first National Labor Hero award on Blas Roca Calderío's chest.
