| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rafael Eugenio George Lafita |
Nickname | Volleyball guru |
| Born | 29 March 1933 |
| Died | 1 June 2014(2014-06-01) (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Volleyball coach |
Medal record | |
Eugenio George Lafita (29 March 1933 – 1 June 2014), also known asEugenio George, was aCubanvolleyball coach. Nicknamed "Volleyball guru",[1] George led theCuban women's team to gold medals at theOlympics in1992,1996,[2] and2000.[3][4] In 2000, theInternational Volleyball Federation (FIVB) named him the Best Women's Volleyball Team Coach of the Twentieth Century.[5][3] In 2005, he was inducted into theInternational Volleyball Hall of Fame.[6]
George was born on 29 March 1933, inBaracoa,Cuba.[7] He began playing volleyball in 1947 at the Pepe Barrientos Gymnasium in the Luyano neighborhood inHavana.[8] He played on theCuban national volleyball team for a few years, and participated in the1955 and1959 Pan American Games.[8]
George's coaching career began in 1963 with the Cuban men's junior team. He built up the foundation of theCuban men's volleyball team that took the gold medal at the1966 Central American and Caribbean Games inSan Juan.[8]
In 1968, George took charge of theCuban women's national volleyball team.[8][9] Under the management of George, the Cubans clinched titles at theFIVB World Championship in the Soviet Union (1978), Brazil (1994) and Japan (1998); theFIVB World Cup in Japan (1989, 1991, 1995 and 1999); and theFIVB World Grand Prix in Quezon City (1993) and Hong Kong (2000).[8] Most notably, he led the Cuban national team to three straight gold medal wins at the Olympics from 1992 to 2000, establishing the Cuban team as the most dominant team of the 1990s.[6] Though he was removed as head coach shortly after the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, he remained involved with the team as an assistant coach up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[10][1]
George was the president of theNORCECA Technical and Coaches Commission, and was a member of the FIVB Coaches Commission.[11]
In 2009, the NORCECA Congress in Antigua, Guatemala established the "Eugenio George Lafita Trophy" to the Most Outstanding Coach of the biennial Women's Continental Championship.[11]
For more than 40 years, George was married to Graciela González until her death in 2007.[12]
George died in Havana on 1 June 2014, at the age of 81 after a fight with cancer.[13]
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