By Norland Rosendo González
Omara repeated at the Parisian Paralympic Games the golden triple she also achieved in Rio de Janeiro-2016 and Tokyo-2020 to total eleven gold medals in summer events, after debuting with a pair of titles in London-2012.
The Stade de France was the scene of one of the iconic moments of 2024, when the 33-year-old Cuban sprinter won the title in the 200-meter race on September 7, kissed the track, took off her shoes and said goodbye.
It was her last competition in sports and the public honoured her with applause and cheers, while she was in tears with her guide Yuniol Kindelán and very close to her coach Miriam Ferrer.
The young woman with fast legs and a genuine smile, belonging to the T12 category (deeply visually impaired), covered the course in 23.62 seconds and showed that she was leaving undefeated, in a big way, as she herself said she wanted to retire: “I want the people to remember me as the best Paralympic athlete in the world.”
Omara won the 100m in Paris with a time of 11.81 seconds and no rival could match her 53.59 seconds in the round the oval.
With that perfect performance in her farewell, she also left behind eleven gold medals in Paralympic events, 14 first places in world championships and another 13 gold medals in five Parapan American games, a sum that undoubtedly places her in the select list of legendary figures in world sport.
Regarding her triumphs, Durand avoided ranking them in order of importance or enjoyment. Every time she was asked about it, she responded in the same terms: All victories are wonderful, I enjoy them to the fullest. I cannot say that I enjoy one more than another because I really enjoy them all in the same way.
A virtuosa on the track, the young woman born in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city on the island, never saves praise for guide Yuniol and her coach Ferrer.
Regarding the boy who runs alongside her, she says that her best sporting results have been with him and considers him a brother that life gave her.
Regarding the trainer, she has emphasized in all the interviews that they have been together since she was 15, “more than half of my life,” she emphasizes. In those years Miriam accompanied her in the good, difficult and exciting moments, while she thanks her work for the results achieved in sport.
Omara said goodbye to the tracks and the legend was born, she said goodbye as a world record holder, the fastest in her category, and now she takes on the challenge of serving as an inspiration, recently a documentary was dedicated to her and a book is in the making that should be released soon.
Since she was a child she has suffered from congenital cataracts, a degenerative disease that has gradually worsened her vision, without preventing her from staying in the elite of sport, thanks, in large part, to her tenacity and conviction to overcome life challenges.
After her retirement. Omara wants to dedicate more time to her family, especially to her daughter, Erica, and she also wants to study, to improve herself, although she made it clear that she will continue to be linked to Paralympic sport.
The year 2024 left two symbolically sublime moments for Cuban and world sport of all time, the glorious farewells, almost simultaneously, of the five-time champion gladiator under the five rings Mijaín López and the Paralympic sprinter Omara Durand.
ef/jcm/nrg
