Carlos Alberto Ortega Castillo . Cuban sportsman of the specialty of Water Polo . Throughout his sports career, he obtained great results both nationally and internationally.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical summary
- 2 Sports career
- 3 First Championship
- 4 Sports results
- 1 School life
- 2 Youth Category
- 3 Senior Category
- 4 International competitions
- 5 International Championships
- 5 injuries
- 6 Retirement from active sport
- 7 Work life
- 8 Fountains
biographical synthesis
He was born on May 27, 1975 in the province of Cienfuegos, the second of three brothers who dedicated a large part of their lives to the practice of water polo. Son of Marta Luisa Castillo López and Modesto Ortega García, he grew up in a large family that lived in the neighborhood of Tulipán .
According to testimonies of people who knew him since childhood, he was a very restless little boy, he was always in the company of his brother but of the two he was the most witty, only this did not detract from his natural intelligence and being respectful with others. others, mainly with his parents whom he obeyed. He played street games, but preferred to play ball and bathe in the river.
The studies were difficult due to the rigorous training they had. Wednesdays and Saturdays were for studying, but even so, on Wednesdays he trained at dawn and on Saturdays in the afternoon. But this did not prevent his good performance in both things. In 1999 he graduated with a degree in Physical Culture from the Higher Institute of Physical Culture in Havana .
The values that he most admires in a person are honesty and what he hates is the lack of it, since he considers that that is where people are measured. She had a somewhat difficult love life since her partner was in the province of Cienfuegos , the greatest communication that existed was by telephone, because travel was difficult. In the year 2000 he got married, his family and his wife always gave him all their support. In 2001 they had his first daughter, this was a somewhat difficult situation for the new family since he was in Havana. However, this did not prevent his sports performance where INDER recognized him three times as athlete of the year, and he was the most useful athlete in three national championships.
Throughout his life as an athlete he had the support of his parents and the indispensable help of his older brother, an aspect that always stands out as important in his sports career.
sports career
He studied his first studies in 1981 at the ENU Pedro Suárez Orama , with satisfactory achievements in his learning up to 3rd grade. He is recruited for the sport of water polo continuing his studies at the PRE- EIDE “Roberto García” where he begins his life as an athlete. Later, they moved their home to the La Juanita neighborhood .
He did not have the physical conditions to practice this sport, but even so he was captured by the commissioner Justo Hernández, who thought that one day Carlos would have the qualities that his older brother had since he practiced the same sport.
When he started practicing water polo he had breathing problems, his coach at that time said it was a subjective problem, because he trained in cold weather and on the beach. Until July 26, 1984 where the Olympic swimming pool is inaugurated. He was an obedient athlete, he had great motivation for the sport, it was never thought that he would obtain such good results in his life as a polo player since the physical conditions were not the best for the practice of this discipline.
As he changed categories, the training became stronger and he had to achieve new goals, he trained at dawn, at noon until nightfall.
First Championship
His first competition was in the pioneer national championship in 1988 , in the 11-12 category, obtaining 2nd place. He always played in the left forward position. Carlos’s personal results have been improving from 8th grade to the point that he manages to play in the 13-14 category even without being of the required age.
sports results
School life
- National Pioneer Championship, 1988, Holguín , obtained 2nd place.
- National School Championship, 1989 , Holguín, obtained 1st place.
- National School Championship, 1990 , Villa Clara , obtained 2nd place.
- National School Championship, 1991 , Sancti Spíritus , obtained 2nd place.
- National School Championship, 1992 , Matanzas , obtained 2nd place.
His coaches were: Mario Medina, Pedro Martínez, Miguel Gómez, Omar Cherta, Víctor Gómez, Leonardo Martínez.
Youth Category
After going through these categories with great prospects, a new stage begins with greater demands in the youth category where he participates in a total of four championships in which he stands out.
- National Youth Championship, 1992, Matanzas, obtained 1st place.
- National Youth Championship, 1993 , Camaguey , took 1st place.
- National Youth Championship, 1994 , Holguín, obtained 1st place.
- National Youth Championship, 1995 , Sancti Spíritus, placed 2nd.
In 1993 , when he participated in the National Youth Championship, he was selected as the most outstanding player in the province of Cienfuegos and was recruited for the Youth pre-selection, being in the 12th grade, the age limit for recruitment.
In 1995 he is selected for the national youth pre-selection.
At the beginning of his arrival, he was a little reluctant, he did not adapt to the new change of life. And he was forced to return to Cienfuegos where his parents and his younger brother were. His father, seeing his attitude, demands that he return since he knew that with a little effort he would overcome his difficulties. The training sessions were the same as those that had to be submitted in Cienfuegos, which made it easier for him to perform as an athlete.
Senior Category
| Senior National Championship | 1993 | Havana | 2do |
| Senior National Championship | 1994 | Villa Clara | 2do |
| Senior National Championship | 1995 | Hundred fires | 3er |
| Senior National Championship | 1996 | Havana City | 3er |
| Senior National Championship | 1997 | Havana | 2do |
| Senior National Championship | 1998 | 1er | |
| Senior National Championship | Until 2007 | 1er | |
| National Olympics | 2002 to 2008 (every 2 years) | 1er |
The Waldimiro Arcos tournaments had a great participation obtaining the 1st place from 1994 to 1999 . He being the leading scorer in several of these tournaments.
international competitions
His first international competition was 1995 in the senior team held in Brazil, obtaining 2nd place. In 1996 he would make an elimination for the pre-Olympic for which he trained until the last week but was not selected. Later there would be a tour where Carlos makes an effort to be able to attend and fails to reach the pre-selection. This resulted in a rejection to the point of wanting to withdraw from the team.
Once again his family supports him to continue his sports career.
Carlos Ortega 3.JPG
goes, employing more efforts, discipline and tenacity leading him to obtain new successes in it. He played in the left forward position, they formed a team that was very capable of facing any situation. It was made up of: Yohandi Coma, Amílcar Delgado and Ariel Machado. They had their own strategy mechanisms within the game, which were used to determine who should carry out the action at the right time.
Being in the pre-selection, his first coach was Oscar Fernández, the training sessions were already stronger and in 1998 in the big team he became part of the team as a regular. This year in the Central American and Caribbean Games held in Venezuela he obtains the title of highest scorer and is named “Hero of the Battle”.
In 2005 he participated in the ALBA Sports Games , standing out for skills acquired in his repeated practices in each training session and larger and smaller matches. Facilitating once again his skill with the ball since this was always the main character of him.
international championships
| Skills | Year | Country | Place |
| Youth Pan American | 1994 | Cuba | 1er |
| invitational tournament | 1995 | Brazil | 2do |
| World University (Sicily) | 1997 | Italia | 4to |
| Central American Games | 1998 | Venezuela | 1er |
| latin cup | 1998 | Italia | 3er |
| Amalfi Tournament | 1998 | Italia | 2do |
| invitational tournament | 1999 | Netherlands | 3er |
| Palma de Mallorca University World Cup | 1999 | spain | 5to |
| Winnipeg Pan American Games | 1999 | Canada | 2do |
| invitational tournament | 2000 | Slovenia | 3er |
| Panamerican Games | 2001 | Dominican Ruble | 4to |
| Pan American Games and World Qualifying | 2005 | Mexico | 3er |
| world | 2005 | Canada | 12 months |
| ALBA Sports Games | 2005 | Cuba | 1er |
| Central American Games | 2006 | Colombia | 1er |
| Panamerican Games | 2007 | Brazil | 4to |
| ALBA Sports Games | 2007 | Venezuela | 1er |
injuries
Difficult situations always existed in the sports life of Carlos Alberto Ortega Castillo. In 1999 , a week before attending the University World Cup in Palma de Mallorca in Spain, he injured his shoulder, he could not make any movement since the pain became unbearable, thanks to the assistance provided by the medical commission he improved a little. He appears in the game against Kazakhstan , he insists to the coach that he wanted and could play, in the course of the game he presented problems again, where he was forced to retire, but this was not a reason for him to try again in the next game, he participated again with discomfort due to the injury, managing to be the team’s highest scorer in this match. Then in the game against the team from Hungarythey hit him hard in the mouth having to give him four internal and external points and even so it was not a reason for him to stop playing.
Retirement from active sport
Like all athletes, they systematically undergo medical examinations and it is detected that their skin is suffering from injuries, they delve into it and it was determined by specialists that they would suffer from psoriasis, treatment begins, but it progresses, determining that the pool water and the chemical components affect him and exacerbate the disease, an issue that makes his continuity in this sport more difficult.
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After a long sports life, he retired, he had been in Havana for 15 years, he had a family and his illness worsened even more. His retirement is made official within the framework of the ALBA Games. The National Commission gave him several recognitions for his career as an athlete and gave him a ball signed by all the athletes who participated with him in the national team.
Two athletes from different provinces give him a pyrography, where they call him “the little giant Carlos Ortega a 6 de Oro”, a number that represented him throughout his life as an athlete. He gets recognition from his family, his wife and his daughter who for the first time shows him an exhibition of synchronized swimming, a sport that he currently plays.
Laboral life
Once retired, he is part of the faculty of teachers who attend this discipline where he works as a coach with his younger brother, and in his first year of working life he obtains satisfactory results in the male 13-14 category.