Ramón Gato (born ) is a Cuban former

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who played for the Cuban men's national volleyball team. Gato competed with the national team at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, finishing seventh. He won bronze medals with the Cuban team at the

1995 Pan American Games The 1995 Pan American Games, officially known as the XII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mar del Plata 1995, were held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from 12 to 26 March 1995. After 44 years, this was the Pan American Games' first retur ...

in Mar del Plata and the 1998 FIVB World Championship in Japan.

2001 Defection

In 2001, Gato was one of six players on the Cuban men's national volleyball team to leave a hotel they stayed at in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

for a tournament, and from there rode a train to Italy for political asylum. The other players were Leonel Marshall, Jorge Luis Hernández,

Ihosvany Hernández Ihosvany Hernández Rivera (born ), more commonly known as Ihosvany Hernández, is a Cuban former volleyball player and three-time Olympian. Hernández played with the Cuban men's national volleyball team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelon ...

Ángel Dennis Ángel Dennis (born 13 June 1977) is a Cuban-born Italian volleyball player. Dennis played with the Cuba men's national volleyball team, Cuban men's national volleyball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he finished in seventh pla ...

, and Yasser Romero. Once they were granted asylum in Italy, this group was referred to as "the defectors".

References

External links

*
Volleybox.net profile

at Sports-reference.com (archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gato, Ramon 1973 births Living people Cuban men's volleyball players Place of birth missing (living people) Volleyball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball players for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists in volleyball Pan American Games volleyball players for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games 20th-century Cuban sportsmen Sportspeople from Camagüey Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in volleyball

2001 Defection

See also

References

External links