Angel Fournier Rodríguez, the greatest Cuban sailor in history, died on March 16 at the age of 34.
Gone is the first Cuban medalist in world jousting, having taken the South Korean world championship title.
Angel Fournier Rodríguez, Cuba’s greatest rower in history, died this Thursday at the age of 35 in the United States due to a heart attack. His death was confirmed by the Cuban Rowing Federation.
World Rowing posted a statement on Fournier’s death on its Facebook page.
The statement said, “The world of rowing is saddened to learn of the passing of Cuban rower Angel Fournier Rodríguez.
Fournier Rodriguez is a multiple World Cup medalist, Pan American Games champion and two-time Olympian.
World Rowing would like to express its condolences to Angel’s family, the Cuban Rowing Federation and all rowing fans around the world.
Who is Angel Fournier Rodriguez?
Angel Fournier Rodriguez was born on December 31, 1987 in Kaimanera, Guantanamo. At the first Alpha Games in Havana in 2005, Fournier demonstrated his exceptional rowing skills and took home a silver trophy as a teenager.
At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he finished sixth due to a tactical error. He had previously finished twelfth in Beijing in 2008. In 2014 and 2017, Fournier was selected as one of Cuba’s top 10 contestants.
His extensive record includes gold medals at the 2011, 2015 and 2019 Pan American Games and the 2015 World Cup in Slovenia, though his greatest credit may have been at the Olympic Games.
The best Cuban rower in history finished seventh in the single sculls in London in 2012. The following year, she won a silver medal at the World Rowing Championships. He finished sixth in the open category in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
She won silver in the single sculls at the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida. Fournier left the national team in 2020 and settled in the United States.
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Angel Fournier Rodriguez was the cause of death
Angel Fournier Rodriguez died of a heart attack on March 16, 2023. His death was confirmed by the Cuban Rowing Federation.
The Cuban Sailing Federation expressed its condolences today to the family and friends of the deceased rower.
“It was a hard blow to all of us who knew him. Our condolences to the family and friends of his association” said National Rowing Commissioner Angel Luis Garcia.
Fournier requested to withdraw from the Cuban team in 2020. According to an interview given to CiberCuba in January, he intends to resume his career in Dallas, Texas.
He admitted in 2019, “I had a heart problem, but I already got over it; “After that, I won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Lima and a bronze medal at the World Cup in Poland,” he said, despite his promise that he did not seek sick leave due to health issues.
Fournier is married to Yusmari Mengana, a three-time Pan American champion and World Cup medalist, with whom he has two children, Angel Lázaro and Natalia, ages 2 and 5.