The Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) on Saturday, announced that Cuban Olympians Anier Garcia and Yoandri Betanzos had joined as coaches to its Track and Field program. While Betanzos will be Lead Coach of the Jumps program at IIS, Garcia has been named Lead Coach for Sprints and Hurdles.

“We are really excited to have Anier and Yoandris join our Track and Field Programme. With their experience at the very highest levels of the sport, we believe this will allow our athletes to continue to learn and grow at this crucial stage of their development,” said Rushdee Warley, CEO of the IIS.

While Garcia is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won Gold in the 110 m hurdles event at the 2000 Sydney Games and Bronze four years later in Athens, Betanzos won Silver at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, and at the 2005 edition in Helsinki. Betanzos is also a two-time Pan American Games champion.

“I am really glad to join the Inspire Institute of Sport and begin a new challenge in my career. In the time that I have been here, I have seen great potential in Indian athletes, and with the right amount of guidance and exposure I am sure that they can reach greater heights. The facilities at the Institute are unbelievable, and even better than most of the facilities I’ve seen during my career. I am excited for what lies ahead,” said Garcia.

While Garcia has been National Champion in hurdles events five times, Betanzos is a four-time Cuban National Champion in the Triple Jump. The duo, who have been training athletes at the Institute, had been part of the IIS contingent at the 61st Inter-State Athletics Championships, in Chennai.

“In our time here we have seen both, the challenges that Indian athletes face, and how we can help them overcome them. Our aim is to give these young and experienced athletes the best possible opportunity to reach the very pinnacle of their sports, and we are focused on that task. The support and desire of the staff here at the IIS is very heartening to see, and we are certain that together we can achieve great things,” said Betanzos.

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The Inspire Institute of Sport Track and Field program includes several athletes in the Triple Jump, Long Jump and Track events, among whom are Sreeshankar Murali, Jeswin Aldrin, Tejaswin Shankar, Eldhose Paul, Abdulla Aboobacker, Tejas Shirse, Yashwanth Kumar, Kanimozhi, Sharvari Parulekar, Praveen Chithravel and Arpinder Singh

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