Posted at 8:03 a.m. EDT Friday, June 1, 2001 in the
Miami Herald
SPARTANBURG, South Carolina -- (AP) -- A Cuban swimmer is missing from the
Pan Am Games for the Blind here, and a team official said he thinks the athlete
may be hoping to seek asylum in the United States.
Swimmer Alain Placeres Frometa, 18, disappeared between his scheduled swim
events at the Middle Tyger YMCA on Thursday morning.
"The impression is that he left the competition without permission and
decided to leave the delegation,'' said Amado Gonzalez, head of the Cuban team
for the games.
Gonzalez said the team suspects that Frometa wants to defect.
"He should be over here with us,'' Gonzalez said. "He might be in
this country or another one, but he's not with us.''
Frometa is the only Cuban swimmer competing.
He took a shuttle from the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind,
where the Cuban delegation is staying, to the YMCA for practice, which began at
10 a.m.
He came in second in the sixth event of the morning, the 100-meter
freestyle. It was just after 11 a.m. He told his coach he wanted to go to the
locker room before his second event.
"He was sitting right next to me and said he was going to the bathroom
to change, which is typical, to put his clothes back on and dry off,'' Gonzalez
said. "There was no indication of anything different than normal.''
Frometa missed his second event, a 100-meter backstroke. Officials skipped
the event since Frometa was the only swimmer. He also missed the medal
presentation for his first event.
About 4 p.m., Cuban team officials informed Spartanburg County sheriff's
deputy David Traxler, who is serving as security director for the games, that
Frometa had left the team. No missing person report was filed.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Ron Gahagan said the case is one for the State
Department and not a law enforcement issue. An Immigration and Naturalization
Service spokesman said there was no reason to search for the athlete because he
has a valid visa for the duration of the games and he is not suspected of
breaking any law.
Competitors in Frometa's class have vision between 20/600 and 20/200 or a
visual field between 5 degrees and 20 degrees with corrective equipment in their
best eye.
Gonzalez said Frometa's departure was the first for the Cuban blind sports
federation. International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) president Enrique Sanz
said he did not remember a similar departure at an IBSA event.
"This has nothing to do with the rest of the team,'' Gonzalez said. "There
is nothing else we have to do. It's his personal decision.''
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 