Olympic fencer Y. Ramirez of Cuba didn’t even like the sport when he was younger. But as a tall and athletic ten-year-old, he caught the eye of a coach at EIDE (Escuela de Iniciación Deportiva), a Cuban academy with a focus on sports.
Yeisser’s dad dropped him off at this new school one day while he was there on the pretence of buying him a special lunch. Meeting new people and starting each morning with a new set of classes was the whole package at this new school. Afternoon athletics.
Y. Ramirez was recruited by the fencing instructor, but he had no interest in the sport because it was less popular than others at his school, such as basketball, volleyball, and baseball.
“I wanted to give up fencing after the first week and start playing basketball instead,” he recounted.
However, it backfired when coaches from other sports at the school tried to recruit him away from the unusual sport. He had begun his epee fencing lessons. This makes use of the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in fencing, making it a good fit for his height and weight.
Your own personal challenge was successful. At the tender age of 17, he had already risen to the top of the rankings and been invited to join the Cuban national team.
He finally admitted, “I’m glad I didn’t resign.”
Y. Ramirez: The Epee Fencer of USA
Y. Ramirez, who is now 34, hasn’t given up yet. He went to Tokyo, Japan, this summer to compete for Team USA in epee fencing at the Olympic Games.
Y. Ramirez was the kind of person I would normally meet through my passion for dancing.
During the pandemic, we mask-danced together at several beach gatherings and Central Park events because we are both active members of a thriving community of salsa dancers in New York City who love Cuban music and dance.
Y. Ramirez was a DJ who played my favourite timba songs nonstop and an enthusiastic dancer who kept the party going all night long.
I had no idea that he was a secret Olympian with a fascinating decades-long career from playing barefoot in the streets of Cuba to competing for Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Y. Ramirez trained as a fencer for nearly a decade in Cuba. In the end, he was one of the youngest players on the Cuban team that competed in the World Cup.
Final Words
Y. Ramirez had a choice to make: continue his life in Cuba and try out for the national team, or move to the United States and start again.
But it wouldn’t be a simple procedure. Y. Ramirez claims that the Cuban government was reluctant to provide him a “carta blanca,” the papers required to leave the country, despite his years of training and experience. Before arriving in Miami at the age of 20, Y. Ramirez spent two years navigating bureaucracy on the island.
His first stop in the United States was the Bronx, where he and his father settled and where he reconnected with his cousin to discuss continuing his fencing career. She had her doubts, and she told Y. Ramirez so.
