In April 2025, at the PJC Congress, Dr Castro was elected to the PJC Executive Committee as their new Secretary General, a position he accepted with great pride. His road to this point has been varied but intertwined with judo since childhood.
“I practised judo when I was in elementary school. Later, in my work with the delegations at the Olympic Games, I tended to the athletes attending the events of this huge multi-disciplinary event. My role in the international federation began in 2016, when the president nominated me. I travelled to Rio de Janeiro in 2016 with the Cuban Olympic Committee and was nominated as an ambassador for the IJF. In 2018, I was included in the IJF Medical Commission and at the end of 2019 I was appointed Chair of the Medical Commission.”
Why is your new role important to you and how do you intend to make an impact in Pan-America?
“I think the most important thing is the trust and the high level of commitment with which I assume this new role. I aim to work on this project and give continuity to all that has been proposed over the last few years, where what predominates is diversity and inclusion, always based on the development and promotion of judo values at a continental level. It should also be in line with the International Judo Federation and the development of our sport at a global level.
The most important thing here is teamwork, integrating the elements that are already there with the new ones that arrive. We have a unique sense of belonging and will always keep that while developing new lines of work, united as a compact, transparent block, committed to judo on the continent."
"Another important thing is the path we travel and where our lines of work are concentrated. If you work hard, with total dedication and passion, the result will come. That is the philosophy of the working group. The throughline of it all, no matter the agenda, is to influence with a positive impact on society by instilling the values that our sport has. Developing more judo practitioners, reaching all corners of the continent with educational projects, impacting the social level, that is our modest but very real objective.
This Pan-American team is ready and committed to continuing to work for the growth and success of judo worldwide. We have positive, consistent leadership with vision in Carlos Zegarra Presser in the PJC and Marius Vizer in the IJF and it is a privilege to work at both these levels in the promotion of judo as an education system, a sport and a tool for social cohesion.”
Dr Castro is ready for this new challenge, one which will both test and extend his knowledge and experience, for the benefit of the PJC and the judo community around the world.