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LODZ, Poland: With a large delivery bag on his back, Venezuelan Olympic fencing champion Ruben Limardo is cycling through his adopted hometown in Poland, coming to the end of the month in a strange but moving tale of this time of pandemic.
The 35-year-old burgeoning London Olympics gold medalist will return to seek glory at the Tokyo Olympics next year, but shocked his fans last week when he tweeted revealing the nature of his new job.
“You have to earn a living and this is a job like any other,” he told AFP while doing a typical day of training and food delivery for Uber Eats.
And he’s not alone: 20 other members of Venezuela’s national fencing team live the same unlikely existence in the Polish city of Lodz.
“We are all messengers,” Limardo said, speaking fluently in Polish.
He won his Olympic title eight years ago, the first Latin American fencer to do so since Cuban Ramon Fonst in 1904.
He also became the second Venezuelan gold medalist, 44 years after boxer Francisco Rodríguez.
‘PANDEMIC LAST IT ALL’
Five mornings a week, young Venezuelan fencers gather in a former workshop on a largely abandoned industrial site in Lodz to cross swords.
Their white uniforms collide with the yellow, blue and red of their national flag that dominate the decoration.
Rubén Limardo won Olympic gold for Venezuela in 2012, but now he has to make ends meet in Poland, his adopted home, delivering food. (Photo: AFP / Wojtek Radwanski)
At the entrance, plenty of green bikes and coolers await the edge of 1pm as each of the fencers finishes their training, takes a quick shower, and then sets off for deliveries in the cold of Polish autumn.
“We receive very little money from Venezuela because of the crisis there. And the pandemic has changed everything. There are no competitions, the Tokyo Olympics were delayed a year and the sponsors say they will start paying again in the new year.
“That’s why we have to make money on the road,” said Limardo, who rides about 50 kilometers (31 miles) a day on his bike and earns around 100 euros a week.
“It works well with our training. We could even say it is an extension of the training,” said the married father of two.
“It allows us to live, finish our studies. We help each other with training, paying rent. Everyone works to finance the others in the group,” he said.
‘THE DREAM IS STILL THERE’
Ruben Limardo has lived in Poland for 19 years.
An uncle encouraged him to move there, who wanted to create a center for Venezuelan fencers in this economically prosperous country with relatively low overhead compared to Western Europe.
Since moving to Poland, Ruben Limardo has created a foundation for Venezuelan fencers. (Photo: AFP / Wojtek Radwanski)
Since moving to Poland, he has created a foundation for Venezuelan fencers, as well as a club to participate in local tournaments and a fencing school for children.
The pandemic has created difficulties but the school continues to function and Venezuelan fencers take turns teaching lessons.
“But above all we are training to resume the competition at any time. The dream is still there,” said Limardo.
“Every time I make a delivery I tell myself that it will help me win the medal I want in Tokyo in 2021.”
