Cuban Olympians Anier Garcia and Yoandri Betanzos appointed coaches in IIS Track and Field program

Cuban Olympians Anier Garcia and Yoandri Betanzos have joined the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) Track and Field program as coaches. The IIS made the announcement on Saturday (August 20).

Betanzos will be the lead coach of the Jumps program at IIS, while Garcia will be the lead coach for Sprint and Hurdles. Both have been training athletes at the institute. They were also a part of the IIS contingent at the 61st Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai.

Garcia is a two-time Olympic medalist. He clinched a gold medal in the 110m hurdles event at the 2000 Sydney Games and settled for the bronze medal in 2004 Athens. Speaking about his appointment as lead coach, Garcia said in a statement:

“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."

Meanwhile, Betanzos is the 2003 and 2005 World Championships silver medalist. He is also a two-time Pan American Games champion. Speaking about his appointment as lead coach, Betanzos said:

“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."

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Athletes who are part of the IIS

Several sports are a part of the Inspire Institute of Sport Track and Field program, including triple jump, long jump, and track events.

Murali Sreeshankar, Tejaswin Shankar, Eldhose Paul, Abdulla Aboobacker, Tejas Shirse, Yashwanth Kumar, Kanimozhi, Sharvari Parulekar, Jeswin Aldrin, Praveen Chithravel and Arpinder Singh are some of the notable names who are part of the institute.

The Indian athletics contingent had a good campaign at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022) in Birmingham, signing off with eight medals, including one gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

Despite the absence of India's poster boy Neeraj Chopra, the track and field contingent pulled off remarkable results at the quadrennial showpiece event. The athletes bettered their performance from the previous edition, as they only bagged three medals at the 2018 Gold Coast Games.