Asley González (born 5 September 1989) is a Cuban-born

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

who has competed for both

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. He won a silver medal in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and became World Champion in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

in the 90 kg category. Since 2021, he has represented Romania in international competitions.

Early life and background

Asley González was born in

Caibarién Caibarién is a municipality city in the Villa Clara Province, Villa Clara province of Cuba. Caibarién is known as "La Villa Blanca" () for its sands and beaches. They are famous for their "Parrandas" (Carnivals) along with Remedios, Cuba, Reme ...

, a town in

Villa Clara Province Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering on the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Matanzas Province to the west, Sancti Spiritus Province to the east, and Cienfuegos Province to the Sou ...

, Cuba. He began practicing

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

at a young age and quickly advanced through the Cuban judo ranks, demonstrating skill and strength in the middleweight division.

Judo career

Early international career (2008–2011)

González made his Olympic debut at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, competing in the 90 kg weight category. However, he was eliminated in the early rounds after losing to

Yves-Matthieu Dafreville Yves-Matthieu Dafreville (born 17 March 1982 in Saint-Pierre, Réunion) is a French judoka, who played for the middleweight category. He is also a member of the Levallois Sporting Club in Levallois-Perret, France, and is coached and trained by P ...

. He won his first Pan American Championships gold medal in Guadalajara 2011.

2012 Olympics and World Championship victory (2012–2013)

At the

in London, González competed in the men's 90 kg category. He won his matches against Héctor Campos, Dmitrij Gerasimenko, and Mark Anthony, reaching the final against

Song Dae-nam Song Dae-Nam (; ; born 5 April 1979 in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province) is a former South Korean judoka. Song rose to prominence when he won the gold medal in the Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 90 kg, middleweight division at the 20 ...

of South Korea. Despite a strong performance, he lost in the final, securing an Olympic silver medal for Cuba. In 2013, González achieved his career-best result by winning gold at the 2013 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.

Later years and injury struggles (2014–2018)

Between 2014 and 2018, González faced multiple injuries, limiting his participation in international competitions. Despite this, he won silver at the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

and multiple Pan American Championship medals.

Switch to Romania and return to competition (2021–present)

In 2021, González announced his switch to Romania, citing better opportunities for training and competition. He represented Romania in the 100 kg weight class at the 2021 Paris Grand Slam, winning a silver medal.

Personal life

González speaks Spanish and Romanian and has trained in both Cuba and Romania. He remains active in the judo community, mentoring young judokas and participating in international judo training camps.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Asley 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Caibarién Cuban male judoka Romanian male judoka Olympic judoka for Cuba Olympic silver medalists for Cuba Olympic medalists in judo World judo champions Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games silver medalists in judo Pan American Games silver medalists for Cuba Judoka at the 2011 Pan American Games Judoka at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games