Ruperto Herrera to receive the Olympic Order from the IOC
22/04/2019
Americas
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Ruperto Herrera to receive Olympic Order from IOC

HABANA (Cuba) – The International Olympic Committee announced the bestowing of the Olympic Order to Cuban Ruperto Herrera in a ceremony that will take place during the 134th Session of the International Olympic Committee, from June 24-26 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Olympic Order is the highest award of the Olympic Movement and is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement.

Ruperto Herrera began his international basketball participation with the Cuban National Team in 1965, during the first ever Centrobasket Championship in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal.

From that moment until his retirement as an international player in 1982 during the 14th Central American and Caribbean Games in Havana, Ruperto was the highest figure of Cuban basketball, participating in two FIBA Basketball World Cups (1970-1974), four Olympic Games, five Central American and Caribbean Games, and four Pan American Games.

Among his most memorable achievements are the bronze medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, fourth place in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 1974 in San Juan, the bronze medal at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali and the Gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games of Santo Domingo 1974 and Havana 1982.

In 1985, Ruperto was elected President of the Cuban Basketball Federation, and in 2006 he was named President of the Central American and Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CONCENCABA). 

Ruperto was inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015.

FIBA