Yaima Ortiz Charro (born 9 November 1981, in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

) is a retired

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

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 and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

, who competed in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and 2008 Summer Olympics.

Career

2001

Ortiz made

altitude training Altitude training is the practice by some endurance athletes of training for several weeks at high altitude, preferably over above sea level, though more commonly at intermediate altitudes due to the shortage of suitable high-altitude locations. A ...

in March 2001 with the National Team in

Riobamba Riobamba (, full name San Pedro de Riobamba; Quechua: ''Rispampa'') is the capital of Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador, and is located in the Chambo River Valley of the Andes. It is south of Ecuador's capital Quito and located at an elev ...

, Ecuador in order to be in shape for the upcoming tournaments. She played the 2001 FIVB World Grand Prix, finishing in fourth place, and later played the 2001 NORCECA Championship in Santo Domingo, winning the silver medal.

2002

She was called to the Cerro Pelado Training Center as one of the national team rookies at the age of 21. She later played the 2002 Cuban National League with the club Occidentales that became league champion with Ortiz's help, and only lost one match in the whole season. After the Cuban league, she joined the national team under the guidance of coaches Eugenio George, Luis Felipe Calderón and Jorge Garbey, set to a four-country warmup tour before the Pan American Cup. After beating the Dominican Republic 3-1, she won the 2002 Pan-American Cup gold medal. Shortly after that, she departed to the

2002 FIVB World Grand Prix The 2002 FIVB World Grand Prix was the tenth women's volleyball tournament of its kind. The event was held over four weeks in three countries and six cities throughout Asia: Philippines, Thailand, PR China, Chinese Taipei and Japan, culminating ...

in a competition where her national team ranked in seventh place. She was among the Cuban team called for the 2002 FIVB World Championship, in which she mostly played as substitute player. However, her team lost 0-3 to the United States in the quarterfinals and had to settle for playing the fifth to eight places round. After defeating Bulgaria 3-2, they won 3-2 over Korea to reach the tournament's fifth place.

2003

Ortiz was part of the Cuban team that won the 2003 Pan-American Cup bronze medal. She then was called to play the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

where her team won the silver medal when they lost 2-3 to the Dominican Republic in the gold medal match. Ortiz played the 2003 FIVB World Cup where her team qualified by winning the 2003 NORCECA Continental Championship silver medal.

2004

Ortiz was among the core of the national team that was getting ready for the 2004 Summer Olympics. She led all the spikers during the 2004 Pan-American Cup held in Mexico, with a 56.00 percent success, winning the gold medal and the Best Spiker award. She was a member of the Cuban team which won the bronze medal in the Olympic tournament. She played under the guidance of the veteran coach

Nikolay Karpol Nikolay Vasilyevich Karpol (russian: Николай Васильевич Карполь; 1 May 1938) is a Soviet and Russian women's volleyball coach. Known as ''The Howling Bear'', Karpol was a regular at the Olympic Games, with his teams usua ...

with the Russian club Dinamo Moscow Oblast for the 2004/05 season with fellow Cuban

Marta Sánchez Marta Sánchez López (born 8 May 1966) is a Spanish singer. She has sold in excess of 10 million albums. Biography Marta was born in Madrid ( Spain). Her father, Antonio Sánchez Camporro, was an Asturian opera singer. She began her mus ...

, where she said she felt like home and became very interested in the country.

2005

Ortiz helped Cuba to win the 2005 Pan-American Cup championship in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She was chosen to play the

2005 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix The FIVB World Grand Prix 2005 was the thirteenth edition of the annual women's volleyball tournament, which is the female equivalent of the Men's Volleyball World League. The 2005 edition was played by twelve countries from June 24 to July 18, 2 ...

and she ranked fourth in the final standings. Later in August, she played in Santiago, Dominican Republic and she helped Cuba to win their qualification tournament for the 2006 FIVB World Championship. Ortiz helped the Cuban team over the Dominican Republic in the 2005 NORCECA Championship semifinals before they settled for the silver medal when falling to the United States 2-3, failing the championship and the ticket to the FIVB Grand Champions Cup. She played for

Uralochka-NTMK Uralochka-NTMK (russian: «Уралочка-НТМК») is a Russian women's volleyball club based in Yekaterinburg and currently plays in the Super League, the top Russian league. It was established in 1966 and is the most successful club in the ...

for 2005/06.

2006

Ortiz was one of the key players of the Occidentales victory in the 2006 Cuban National Games, when they defeated the Dominican Republic representatives 3-1. She then headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico to participate in the 2006 Pan-American Cup, where they won the silver medal after falling 1-3 to Brazil, and the

2006 Central American and Caribbean Games The 20th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games was held in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The tournament began on July 15 and ended on July 30. Host city *Main host city **Cartagena de Indias *Subsites: ** Barranquilla, Colombia ...

. She then played the

2006 FIVB World Grand Prix The FIVB World Grand Prix 2006 was the fourteenth edition of the annual women's volleyball tournament, which is the female equivalent of the Men's Volleyball World League. Qualification Asia *The top four Asian teams according to the FIVB Wor ...

, but she could not play as an attacker because she was injured. In the 2006 World Championship she played as Rosir Calderon's substitute for serve and defense because she was still recovering from knee surgery. She also played as a libero.

2007

She won the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Ol ...

gold medal with her national team, playing as the team libero. She was still in the libero position for the 2007 NORCECA Championship, because she was still having a recovering knee and her team won the tournament by defeating 3-2 to the United States in the golden medal match. She played as libero for the 2007 FIVB World Cup. In 2007, she played the 2007 FIVB World Cup, ranking with her national team in fourth place. She later played also as libero in the NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament, where her team won a berth for the 2008 Summer Olympics by winning the event undefeated.

2008

She was included in the 2008 Pan-American Cup squad that ranked 11th from 12 participants and later won the silver medal in the

2008 FIVB World Grand Prix The FIVB World Grand Prix 2008 was a women's volleyball tournament in which 12 countries competed from 20 June to 12 July 2008. The finals were held in Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan. Cuba, Brazil, Dominican Republic and the United States quali ...

. She finished fourth with the Cuban team in the 2008 Olympic tournament. Ortiz decided to take a break from the Cuban national team after the Olympics, but when she tried to return to the team she received a two years penalty from the Cuban authorities. After the Olympic disappointment, she dedicated herself to modeling in Italy.

2010

Even when she received offers from Italian volleyball clubs, her agent Alexei Kunyshev recommended the Russian league to her. After the two-year break from volleyball, Ortiz travelled in June 2010 to Russia to the Siberian city of

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

, training during the Omichka Omsk club's vacation time in order to get in shape before August, when the contracts were going to be held. She was introduced to the press as an Omichka club member for the 2010/10 season in an open training session on 19 August 2010. She played the second round of the 2010/11 GM Capital Challenge Cup, with Omichka winning in December the home match to the Azerbaijani club

Lokomotiv Baku Lokomotiv often refers to: *Lokomotiv (sports society), formerly Soviet Union, now Commonwealth of Independent States Lokomotiv may also refer to: Association football *FC Lokomotiv Chita, Russia *FC Lokomotiv Liski, Russia *FC Lokomotiv Mosc ...

, 3-2. However, they lost the away match 0-3 and the golden set, ending their European Cups participation. She led her club with 18 points in the lost 0-3 to Dinamo Moscow, with her first match in Siberian severe weather at under 30 degrees below zero. Because of the weather the club's doctor asked her not to play, and Ortiz was sidelined for the last 2010 match against Dinamo Krasnodar due to

acute respiratory distress syndrome Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin col ...

, but she opted to stay with the team in the warm up zone and cheer during the match.

2011

After Ortiz played nine matches with the Omsk club, averaging 4.31 points per set and ranking seventh in the Russian Superliga, she moved in February to the Azerbaijani club Igtisadchi Baku. She ended the season by winning the Azerbaijan Super League bronze medal. She signed with the Russian club

Dinamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

for the 2011/12 season. She expressed that she was honored to play with this club and had many goals, including winning the

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tota ...

. However, due to low performance, the club's administration decided to hire Angelina Grün in her place to stay on court along with

Eva Yaneva Eva Yaneva (Bulgarian Cyrillic: Ева Янева, born 31 July 1985 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian volleyball player. She currently plays for Volero Le Cannet in France. Career She started playing volleyball in 1996 at the age of 11 with CSKA Sofi ...

because of the local league restrictions. Ortiz agreed to continue playing in the

2011–12 CEV Champions League The 2011–12 CEV Champions League was the 53rd edition of the highest level European volleyball club competition organised by the European Volleyball Confederation. Participating teams League round 24 teams were drawn to 6 pools of 4 teams eac ...

, and also helped them to win the 2011 Russian Cup.

2012

Ortiz played the CEV Champions League and contributed with her club to win their pool first place in the preliminary round. They reached the CEV Champions League Knockout stage, where they lost 2-3 to the Italian club MC-Carnaghi Villa Cortese in Italy, and 0-3 in Moscow, to end her club's European Championship and her time with the Moscow club. The club tried to help Ortiz to find a new club for the rest of the season. She later signed for the Turkish club

Sarıyer Belediyesi Sarıyer () is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Rumelifeneri, Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan and Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black ...

for the 2012/13 season. The contract was questioned within the

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Rumelifeneri, Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan and Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black Sea ...

Municipal Assembly, when a local lawmaker asked for clarification about the Ortiz contract worth US$1.5 million and the Brazilian Olympic player

Raquel Silva Raquel Peluci Xavier Camargo da Silva (born April 30, 1978, in Rio de Janeiro) is a volleyball player who competed for Brazil at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. There she won the bronze medal with the Women's National Team. Rodrig ...

US$1.25 million at the time. He showed in the assembly and published in the municipality website pictures of Ortiz in a bikini. He asked if they had come to Turkey for modelling, and questioned where the funding came from. The club president said that she had signed for US$100,000 just to play volleyball, and that the funding would be contributed by the club sponsors on a monthly basis for 10 months, starting in September 2012. Ortiz won the first International Bosphorus Volleyball Tournament organized for her club as a warm up before the season's start. She started the season as her club's scoring leader, but decreased her performance because she was injured.

2013-2015

She claimed that she really enjoyed playing with Sarıyer, focused on reaching a league's top six ranking to qualify for the European Cups. She said that she looked forward playing with them the next season. However, she announced her retirement after that season, due to suffering a knee injury. She cited family reasons for making a pause in her career in July 2013, but nonetheless, she supported her former teammates in the Sarıyer's opening ceremony of the 2013-2014 season. She unsuccessfully tried a return in October, with Sarıyer releasing the Ukrainian Mariia Voitenko, club's previous signing, to make room for her. Instead, she dedicated herself to modeling again. She tried to return for the 2014/15 season with Sarıyer, signing after having spent one year out, and the medical check was approved, but the Brazilian Ana Paula Lopes Ferreira was transferred in her place when she suffered from injuries to her

knee cartilage In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the h ...

Personal life

Ortiz was born on 9 November 1981 in Havana, Cuba. As of 2007 she was studying

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explora ...

in Cuba. She started playing volleyball at the age of eight, and studied in the EIDE Mártires de Barbados school before joining the Centro de Alto Rendimiento Cerro Pelado for advance training. In 2008 she was discovered in

Providencia, Chile Providencia (, Spanish: "providence") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Part of Greater Santiago, it is bordered by the communes of Santiago to the west, Recoleta to the northwest, Las Condes a ...

by the Chilean designer Rubén Campos, while she was visiting her mother. She lost 10 kg, took modelling classes and announced her sport retirement at that time, claiming that she just wanted to model. She spent one and a half years modelling in Italy, and married Massimiliano Gambini. After her second retirement, she established herself in Istanbul and worked as a model. The American

Hyperrealism Jean Baudrillard ( , , ; 27 July 1929 – 6 March 2007) was a French sociologist, philosopher and poet with interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as w ...

sculptor and artist

Carole Feuerman Carole A. Feuerman (born 1945) is an American sculptor and artist working in hyperrealism. Feuerman utilizes a variety of media including resin, marble, and bronze. She has been included in exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution's National ...

made a sculpture of Ortiz named ''Yaima and the Ball'' that debuted in December 2014. During her career Ortiz suffered from a strong tendinitis of the right shoulder and degenerative meniscopathy of the right knee. Dr. Mario Pastorelli helped her recover her career. In December 2016 she married the Turkish

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

designer Rizá Tansu in Cuba, where the Cuban band Orishas recorded their

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

"Sastre de tu amor".