European-Lost years leave Cuban-born Trevejo feeling sprightly

By Justin Palmer BAKU, June 23 (Reuters) - The road to Baku has been harder than most and come at a huge personal cost for naturalised Frenchman Ivan Trevejo who ranks among a number of Cuban-born athletes at the European Games in the Azeri capital. At 43, Trevejo is the oldest competitor in the fencing competition and his belief that "I feel like I'm only 30 years old" can be traced to his lost time in the sport after defecting from Cuba in 2002. "When I made the decision, I knew that I would leave my family behind. But I had the hope that I could come back and see them again shortly, maybe in five years' time. It turned out to be impossible. I haven't seen them ever since," he said. Trevejo, who will compete in the men's individual Epee on Wednesday, enjoyed success for his country of birth, winning Olympic silver in Atlanta in 1996, followed a year later with world championship gold in the team epee and a bronze at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. But two years later he defected during the 2002 world championships in Lisbon and so began an uncertain existence. "It was a difficult time, where it was hard just to get all the daily necessities (in Cuba). There were a lot of difficulties and I could hardly continue fencing and that was what I wanted. "It was almost at the end of the competition when I escaped. It all happened like in a movie," he recalled. He spent two years in Spain before settling in France but, without a passport and official papers, his days as a competitor appeared over. For 10 years he could only practise and coach before marrying a French woman and gaining citizenship in 2010, meaning he could finally represent France. If Trevejo's hopes of standing on a podium are probably distant, light-welterweight boxer Collazo Sotomayor is hoping, at the age of 30, he is still reaching his peak and can strike gold for the Games hosts. The Cuban-born fighter, who moved to Azerbaijan two years ago, is taking inspiration from his famous uncle, high jump world record holder and 1992 Olympic champion Javier Sotomayor. "It's like he's my star, he follows me everywhere," said Collazo, who like Trevejo left his family behind in Cuba. "He's my idol." The highly-fancied Collazo continues his gold bid with a quarter-final fight later on Tuesday but one Cuban-born athlete already has a medal in the bag. Wrestler Frank Chamizo Marquez, who represented Cuba until 2011 and won the Pan American Championship, took a silver for his adopted country Italy in the men's 65kg freestyle. (Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)