REYES PLA Enmanuel

Olympic qualifying results
He secured a spot for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo by winning silver in the heavyweight category at the European Olympic qualification tournament in June 2021. (marca.com, 08 Jun 2021)

General
FROM CUBA TO SPAIN
He was born in Havana, Cuba, and boxed at national level, but feared a lack of opportunities behind compatriot Erislandy Savon, who won gold in the heavyweight division at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. After leaving Cuba, he spent time in Russia, Austria and Germany before settling in A Coruna, Spain, in 2017, where his uncle lived. He became a naturalised citizen in January 2020. "Leaving Cuba was difficult because I left many loved ones and I did not know how I would get to Spain. They were difficult months, jumping borders, always afraid of being arrested without papers. I spent four months locked in a house, in a refugee camp, or in a migrants centre. But at the end of it all, I was able to get to my family." (lavozdegalicia.es, 07 Jun 2021; olympics.com, 07 Jun 2021; marca.com, 28 Jan 2020)