«CONGRATULATIONS to Antonio Muñoz and Dr. Cs. Iván Román, who received the Honorary Title of Labour Heroes of the Republic of Cuba from Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic».
This is what the head of Inder, Osvaldo Vento Montiller, wrote on his account on the social network X, in what represents pride for the Cuban sports system.
Muñoz, known as the Giant of Escambray, has been part of great moments in Cuban baseball, to which he is still linked at 75 years of age, especially in teaching children in Cienfuegos.
The charismatic home run hitter and first-pad defender was the first player to reach 300 home runs in a national baseball series. In 24 editions he hit 370. He was selected among the 100 best Cuban sportsmen of the 20th century and exalted to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.
Román, an octogenarian with a doctorate in science and Honoris Causa award from the Universidad Deportiva del Sur in Venezuela, is considered the father of strength training in Cuba. The professor has an extensive bibliography.
Ambassador of Peace in Sport (2006), he has a commendable scientific, biographical and social work that has been published in the books Iván Román Suárez, entre ciencia y fuerza (2010) and Halón de altura (2018).
His sporting career includes being head coach of the Chilean national weightlifting team, with an achievement of 47 national records and several international medals in 1973; strength training advisor to the Saudi Arabian team in the 2006 Football World Cup; president of the Technical Committee of the Pan-American Weightlifting Confederation between 1991 and 2003; and member of the Technical Committee of the International Weightlifting Federation.
They join the more than 40 workers of the Union of Education, Science and Sport who have received the Honorary Title, among them Alcides Sagarra, the architect of the boxing school that has brought so much glory to Cuba.
On Monday, Cuba awarded its highest title, that of Hero or Heroine of Labour of the Republic, to 19 men and women of high lineage and illustrious work in culture, the armed forces, sport, workshops, the furrow and many other labour activities.
In a solemn ceremony at the Laguito Protocol Hall in Havana, the Lázaro Peña First Degree Order was also awarded to 12 workers and two vanguard collectives; the Second Degree Order to five workers, the Third Degree Order to five workers and two outstanding trade union leaders, and the Jesús Menéndez Medal to one worker and one collective.
On 21 July 1983, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz placed on the chest of Blas Roca Calderío the first decoration of National Labour Hero.
