Alan Vera

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vera and the second or maternal family name is García.

Alan Ernesto Vera García (October 26, 1990 – September 23, 2024) was a Cuban-American Greco-Roman wrestler.^[1]

Alan Vera

Vera in 2021
Personal information
National team	Cuba (2010–2019), United States (2020–2024)
Born	(1990-10-26)October 26, 1990 Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Died	September 23, 2024(2024-09-23) (aged 33) Jersey City, New Jersey, US
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	97 kg (214 lb; 15 st 4 lb)
Spouse	Elena Pirozhkova
Sport
Sport	Greco-Roman wrestling
Club	New York Athletic Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up Two-time Pan American Championships medalist Two-time Senior World Team member 2021 Senior World Team Trials champion Two-Time Senior Nationals champion 2019 Dave Schultz Memorial International champion 2019 Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational champion
Medal record Pan American Games 2015 Toronto 85 kg Pan American Championships 2023 Buenos Aires 97 kg

International career

Cuba

In 2015, he won a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2016, he won a gold medal at the Pan American Wrestling Championships while competing for Cuba. He would be the Cuban national champion four times.^[2]

United States

Later, he emigrated to the United States, moving to Jersey City, New Jersey in 2017.^[3] In 2019 he would begin competing for his adopted country.

In 2023, Vera won a bronze medal at the Pan American Championships for the United States, and in 2024, he won a silver medal at the event for Team USA.^[2]

In 2024, Vera qualified the United States for the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 97 kg division at the 2024 Pan-American Olympic Qualification Tournament in Acapulco, Mexico.^[4][5] Vera narrowly missed out representing the U.S. at the Olympics when he came in second place in the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials.^[6]

Personal life

In 2016, Vera married to Elena Pirozhkova, a former world champion American sport wrestler and two-time Olympian.^[4][7]

In June 2024, the pair welcomed their first child, a daughter.^[8]

Death

On 29 July 2024, Vera suffered cardiac arrest while playing soccer with friends.^[9][2] He was hospitalized and died on September 23, 2024 at the age of 33.^[4][10][11]