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(ATR) A notable absentee at this week's Americas Best Practices Symposium in Miami was former Puerto Rican Olympic Committee (COPUR) president Hector Cardona.
The 81-year-old president of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization faces a serious health condition, current COPUR president Sara Rosario told Around the Rings.
"After the hospitalization of several days today he is already in his house," Rosario told ATR. "He has a very lamentable liver condition, in these health things one will always look for a miracle or assistance from the Gods. I know that he will continue to fight.
"He is unable to attend meetings with his medical restrictions, but CACSO continues to function very well and he is aware of everything," she continued. "Cardona even recently met with the president of the Barranquilla 2018 Organizing Committee for the Central American and Caribbean Games, he was just in Puerto Rico to talk to Héctor.
"We hope that his illness in no way complicates the management for the successful organization of that competition."
Rosario also predicted Puerto Rico could win 100 medals at those regional games.
The first woman president of COPUR spoke with ATR after the symposium that concluded June 15. She says the symposium demonstrated "the new ODEPA that is being created by president Neven Ilic".
"He will take the lead in many of the topics and we understand that ODEPA can also be a great facilitator for development," she says. "And we hope we can soon implement some of the recommendations of the meeting."
The Olympic leader who was elected as a member of the PanamSports Executive Committee at the General Assembly in Punta del Este, Uruguay last April, considered that "the new era" at PanamSports means a new hope of improving many of the systems already in place.
"It is not that what was formed in the past had deficiencies – because the administration of Mario Vázquez Raña was successful in many aspects – it is that the sport has been changing along with technology and we have to continue moving forward," Rosario said. "We need to continue looking for alternatives and formulas for success which is part of the platform of Ilic in this rebirth of ODEPA before the Pan American Games in Lima and the Olympic Games in Tokyo."
The COPUR chief also revealed to ATR that on Aug. 13, Puerto Rico will celebrate Olympism by honoring the one year anniversary of Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medal won by tennis player Monica Puig at the Rio 2016 Games.
Written by Miguel Hernandez and translated by Kevin Nutley in Miami.
Homepage photo: (ODECABE)
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