The Long, Strange Journey of Cuba’s Hanser Garcia to the Olympic Final

When Hanser Garcia’s name popped up as the third-seed headed into the finals of the men’s 100 free final, a lot of people, even swimming people, were left scratching their heads about who the Cuban was.

Garcia’s rise to sprinting stardom has been meteoric, but has not exactly been a straight path.

The man known in his native country as “El Pollo,” or “the Chicken,” was a member of Cuba’s National water polo team until 2009. The skills needed for water polo are similar to those needed to be a world-class freestyler, but still hugely different. There is no diving in waterpolo; there are no flipturns in water polo; and no dolphin kicks. Being a world-class sprinter requires near-perfection in all of these skills, as well as a very technical stroke, whereas water polo’s focus is more on athleticism and swimming in ways aside from straight lines.

He started out very well. He cracked 50 seconds in the 100 free in 2010, his first full season of swimming training, but nobody took much notice of him.

It wasn’t until the Pan American Games in 2011, where he took a silver medal in the 100 free, that he caught the attention of the passionate Latin American swimming community.

Even at a minor continental competition like the Pan Am Games, that medal can’t be discounted. If there is an area where the Pan American region is strong, it’s the sprint freestyles. Between the World Record holder Cesar Cielo, the Fraser Brothers, and the American entrants, a silver is a tough order.

But more than the numbers, there was the eyeball test in this race. Garcia swam a 48.3, which ranked him 12th in the world. But he did so with a bad start, weak turns, and little power underwater. Suddenly, 47’s began dancing through the heads of fans, if only he could get proper training.

He and his coach Lili Mojarrieta had been working in an outdoor, 25-meter pool in Cuba, and winter was approaching. Seeking better conditions, they headed to Peru – not exactly a swimming mecca, but perhaps still an upgrade from Cuba.

That training still wasn’t giving him what he needed, so he hopped across the pond to Europe to fine-tune his racing skills, improve his strength, and race a higher level of competition. That wasn’t without it’s own challenges though; in late March, he dropped a weight on his head in Serbia, requiring that he get four staples on his forehead.

That accident didn’t hinder him much; in April he swam a 48.39 in a solo time-trial in Cuba to reassert himself as an Olympic darkhorse contender. At the European Mare Nostrum series in June, he wasn’t mind-blowing, but seemed to be adapting to elite competition. His starts were better, and his turns were better.

Fast-forward 6 weeks, Garcia seems to finally be putting things together. His start is years ahead of where it was, though still very inconsistent. His turn needs a lot of work. But on top of the water, he was as good as anybody. I’d almost go so far as to say that he’s dominant, especially on his second 50.