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Saturday Morning News

Cuban Hugh-Jumper Struggles to Overcome Biggest Hurdle

Aired July 1, 2000 - 8:25 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to Cuba. Our attention this morning is not on the island's most famous little boy. Instead, we're looking at one of the island's most famous athletes, a man who holds the high jump record.

CNN's John Zarrella reports on a major hurdle the athlete is struggling to overcome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cuban high jumper Javier Sotomayor practices endless hours for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. But Sotomayor, the only man ever to clear the bar at eight feet, probably won't be allowed to compete. This week, the International Amateur Athletic Federation suspended him for two years.

JAVIER SOTOMAYOR, CUBAN HIGH JUMPER: I have cried all those days leading up to the decision, except for that day. I have cried before and I have cried after, except for that day.

ZARRELLA: Sotomayor's suspension comes nearly a year after he tested positive for cocaine and was stripped of his Gold Medal at the Pan-American games in Winnipeg. Cuban sports officials have repeatedly charged the test was rigged or Sotomayor's food doctored. The man who holds the world's record just wants his name cleared.

SOTOMAYOR: I have two small children. Who knows what they would think of me in the future? This entire situation makes me feel very sad and I want to keep going to any distance to clear my image. I want to prove my innocence.

ZARRELLA: For the Cuban team, the Winnipeg games were a bad experience. Sotomayor says his teammates constantly got phone calls urging them to defect and, he says, anti-Cuban sentiment was everywhere. Even President Fidel Castro denounced the competition, saying he had never seen so much trickery and filth in Pan-American competition. Cuban sports officials say they don't expect the same problem in Sydney.

HUMBERTO HERNANDEZ, PRESIDENT, CUBAN SPORTS INSTITUTE: I trust the competition at this level would not allow any strain or to be strained by any vocal provocators. ZARRELLA: The Cubans say they won't take any special precautions like bringing their own food or chaperones. But the Cubans say they know they have to be careful. They don't want a repeat of what happened to the world's greatest high jumper, who says he'd jump through hoops if it would help clear his name.

John Zarrella, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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