Cuban volleyballer Téllez thriving 4 years after defection

Swarovski

Representing one’s country in the Olympics is an honor, but it also carries a responsibility, says Dulce María Téllez, who won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens as a member of the Cuban national volleyball team.
Téllez said that the Cuban {-屏-|-蔽-} demanded that its athletes win at international competitions.
“In Cuba they always connect sports with politics and to a point we are obligated to win them, like the Pan American games, the Central American games,” she said. “In Cuba these games carry a bigger political value than a competitive one, which adds pressure to us athletes, because you knew Fidel was watching.”
While volleyball was not her favorite sport, it is the one that has helped Téllez, 26, move forward in life and, as she said, “the one that has given me many wonderful experiences.”
“I’ve been playing volleyball for 14 years now, since I started playing when I was 12,” said the 5-foot-10 middle blocker, who has been a member of the Guaynabo Mets of the Women’s Superior Volleyball League, following a season with that league’s Bayamón Vaqueras practice squad. She recently completed her first full season with the Mets following her naturalization.
“I didn’t like volleyball, I used to play basketball, but a friend of mine, Ernesto, came up to me in Santiago [Cuba] and told me I should try volleyball.”
Success did not come fast or easily for her. It could also be said that it almost did not come at all, but her determination and commitment made it happen.
“I started to practice and slowly improved every day until I made the Cuban national team and got to represent my country in international tournaments and the Olympics,” she said. “It was a process. There were frustrating moments where I thought about quitting volleyball, but God kept me on the right path.
“Representing my country carries a lot of responsibility and commitment, because when people look at you, they see your country.”
Téllez has been living in Puerto Rico since 2006, when she decided to leave her team, and Cuba, on July 2.
“I knew it was the right time for me to leave Cuba,” she said. “I have strong faith in God and He told me it was the right time to take this step to help me progress in life. He put out his hand and hid me from the police officers there [at a San Juan hotel where the Cuban team was staying during the 5th Pan American Cup women’s volleyball tournament] and I was able to stay behind.”
Téllez left after her team’s third match and did not look back. From there she met with a pastor who helped her through the necessary process allowing her to stay in Puerto Rico.
“My team later found out what I had done when they went to the police and they told them that I had filed for political asylum,” Téllez said.
It was not hard for her to get used to the new island she was going to call home.
“It was an easy transition because Puerto Rico is very similar to Cuba,” she said. “The streets, the people and even the Capitol here is very similar to the one over there.”
Answering the call
Téllez will be conducting a volleyball camp for children this month — although she said it was not her idea.
“This camp was born out of God and will be held in collaboration with Mt. Tzion Church,” she said. “The pastor, Pedro Montoya, encouraged me to move forward with the plan, because what I want to do is bring the children outside to exercise and interact with others, which is very important.”
Téllez said this will be a different type of camp, in that it will have a religious aspect connected to it.
“I want the children to know that God is in all aspects of their lives, including sports,” she said. “I want to teach them that God is not only found in Church.
“At the camp I will also tell the kids about different experiences I’ve had in my career where God spoke to me and affected my life.”
The camp is intended for children between the ages of five and 13. As of now, only Téllez will be providing instruction. She is expecting anywhere from five to 40 children and will run the camp from June 8 to July 9 weekdays from 7:30 a.m to 2 p.m.

没啥可翻译的，也没啥有价值的东东，能记得此女的人也很少吧....

Swarovski

通篇居然只屏蔽了 噶我们特 这个词

sunbaobao

特雷兹，那个嘴边一个大痣，04后叛逃的水货副攻？

bibiff

原来是这么一回事！社 会 主 义的本质就是这样的。P打头的那个东西比一切都重要！

richie252

04年此女是不是去雅典旅游了的啊？当时应该是4个主攻，4个副攻，3个二传和一个自由人吧

stillcomer

In Cuba these games carry a bigger political value than a competitive one, which adds pressure to us athletes, because you knew Fidel was watching.

这个古巴队员要向女王求经了
京奥上在胡老板的亲临下还表演得那么华丽还不是一样的蛋定

周大少

古巴朝鲜
都是完美的社会主义国家

圣城少爷

在波多黎各搞教会排球夏令营吗？ faint

tellez在波多黎各过得应该好不到哪儿去，也许她唯一能感觉到的是心灵的自由吧~

lyydslz

厄 只屏蔽了 噶我们特 这个词 是什么