Daegu silver medalist focused and going for more

Harold Iglesias Manresa

ERASING a negative memory is never easy for an athlete, especially if it involves an important competition, none less than the London Summer Olympics, where Lázaro Borges arrived as a favorite, having finished second in the Daegu World Championship with a record of 5.90 meters, but ended his effort prematurely with a broken pole. With this on his shoulders, the 26-year-old pole vaulter trains every morning, as the winter circuit begins.

His home club is Havana’s Pan American Stadium, where he is getting into gear with trainer Rubén Camino, along with teammate Yankiel Lara and juvenile athlete, 16-year-old Marcos Molina. This reporter located Borges on field, as he repeatedly practiced his hold on the pole, his push-off and the coordination of his arms and legs.

After completing the practice session, Borges talked with Granma.

Maybe it will surprise you, but it was a positive year, both physically and psychologically – with new experiences and competition sites as I have joined the elite ranks. In London, we all saw how my pole broke, my strategy let me down. With the change to a softer pole, I should have lowered the height of my hold. It was a psychological shock. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, but not at that high level. This initial fault on the 5.50 kept me out of the finals. Then, to make it over the 5.60, I needed a less flexible pole, and I didn’t have one.

It’s not ideal, but we have to work with what we have.

Coach Camino added, "Both Lázaro and Yankiel use the same poles. When Lázaro travels outside of Cuba, Lara suffers since he has to continue training without them. We are currently waiting for the arrival of six poles. To give you some idea of what we are talking about, let me tell you these poles are made of fiberglass or carbon fiber. They are four to five meters in length and cost between 700 and 900 euros. We hope to stabilize our work once we have them, and in the case of Borges and Yankiel, looking for high marks in the Moscow World Championship this coming August 10-18. I would say we aspire to more, that both of them finish as finalists. Borges will need to come close to 5.80 (plus or minus five centimeters) and Lara 5.65 (with the same margin.)"

Lázaro Borges said that working hard and keeping his confidence up were most important. At this point his training plan is focused on technique. 2012 was an intense, busy year with two tours and an injury to his left shoulder, which provides support, since the right is used for leverage. He continued, "I am a lot stronger thanks to the exercises my doctor and physical therapist recommended, although in general terms I need to increase my upper body muscle mass. I need that to raise the height of my hold and compete with stronger poles. I’m used to one which supports 195 pounds of pressure, with a flexibility rating of 15.3. This, along with my push-off run and take-off, which are my principal strengths, should give me more height.

I hope so. After the Olympics, we extended the stay in Europe three weeks to get over the psychological blow and now I’m focused on training, calm, without pressure.