HAVANA (AP) – In a wrestling suit the colors of the U.S. flag, 8-year-old Yodimiler Arias grapples with a classmate in the scorching heat of a Havana afternoon.
About 20 children are learning to wrestle in the park in Old Havana. When asked why they chose wrestling in baseball-loving Cuba, they shout in unison: “To be like Mijain Lopez!”
Lopez has won two Olympic gold medals in Greco-Roman wrestling, as well as five world championships, and is one of Cuba’s most heralded and popular athletes.
Under the watchful eye of their teacher, former wrestler Michael Guerra, the children run, do squats and practice pins and other moves. Some are barefoot while others wear sandals or tennis shoes.
“Have fun, play,” Guerra, 27, tells the children so they don’t get bored and come back each day after school for more training.