Alberto Juantorena was one of the Cuban...
- Share via
Alberto Juantorena was one of the Cuban sports officials involved in what police called “a donnybrook,” in which no one was seriously hurt, at the Junior World and Pan American weightlifting championships in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
The 16 members of the Cuban delegation were walking back to their seats after the opening ceremonies when nine anti-Cuban demonstrators taunted them.
Juantorena, the former Olympic boxing gold medalist who is Cuba’s vice president of the National Institute for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation, issued an angry retort and the demonstrators began to crowd the Cuban team as trainer Javier Gonzalez and two Cuban weightlifters went to pick up chairs.
The Ft. Lauderdale Police Department quickly intervened and escorted the demonstrators out of the auditorium.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
