Alan Vera

{{Family name hatnote|Vera|García|lang=Spanish}}{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Alan Vera

| image = Alan Vera (cropped).JPG

| alt = Vera looking downwards, in a blue uniform

| caption = Vera in 2021

| national_team = Cuba (2010–2019),
United States (2020–2024)

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1990|10|26}}

| birth_place = Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|09|23|1990|10|26}}

| death_place = Jersey City, New Jersey, US

| height = {{height|m=1.83}}

| weight_kg = 97

| spouse = Elena Pirozhkova

| sport = Greco-Roman wrestling

| club = New York Athletic Club

| coach =

| paralympics =

| show-medals =

| medaltemplates =

| medaltemplates-title =

| pb = 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

}}

Alan Ernesto Vera García (October 26, 1990 – September 23, 2024) was a Cuban-American Greco-Roman wrestler.{{Cite web |title=Results |url=https://www.iat.uni-leipzig.de/datenbanken/dbwrestling/daten.php?spid=B91EAE74B97946BF85C11379566853EF |access-date=2024-09-26 |publisher=International Wrestling Database |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510092659/https://www.iat.uni-leipzig.de/datenbanken/dbwrestling/daten.php?spid=B91EAE74B97946BF85C11379566853EF |url-status=dead }}

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.

= United States =

Later, he emigrated to the United States, moving to Jersey City, New Jersey in 2017.{{Cite web |last=NJ.com |first=Bill Evans | NJ Advance Media for |date=2022-06-08 |title=Jersey City resident qualifies for U.S. wrestling Greco world team |url=https://www.nj.com/sports/2022/06/jersey-city-resident-qualifies-for-us-wrestling-greco-world-team.html |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=nj |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-24 |title=Greco-Roman National Team member Alan Vera, 33, has passed away |url=https://www.themat.com/news/2024/september/24/greco-roman-national-team-member-alan-vera-33-has-passed-away |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=www.themat.com |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-25 |title=U.S. Greco-Roman star Alan Vera passes away |url=https://uww.org/article/us-greco-roman-star-alan-vera-passes-away |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=uww.org |language=en}}{{cite web|first=Maggie|last=Hendricks|date=February 29, 2024|title=Wrestlers Spencer Woods, Alan Vera and Cohlton Schultz obtain Paris 2024 quotas for USA at Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier|website=olympics.com|url=https://olympics.com/en/news/wrestlers-spencer-woods-alan-vera-and-cohlton-schultz-obtain-paris-2024-quotas-for-usa-at-pan-american-olympic-games-qualifier}} Vera narrowly missed out representing the U.S. at the Olympics when he came in second place in the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials.{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Bill |title=Olympic Wrestling Trials, 2024: Jersey City transplant Alan Vera one win from berth |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/olympic-wrestling-trials-2024-jersey-city-transplant-alan-vera-one-win-from-berth/ar-AA1nmsQJ?ocid=hpmsn&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=www.msn.com}}

Personal life

In 2016, Vera married to Elena Pirozhkova, a former world champion American sport wrestler and two-time Olympian.https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/olympics/news-god-finally-let-soul-rest-alan-vera-s-wife-former-world-champion-elena-pirozhkova-pens-emotional-note-wrestler-s-demise

In June 2024, the pair welcomed their first child, a daughter.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-26 |title=US wrestling star Alan Vera dies at 33 |url=https://www.today.com/health/alan-vera-wrestler-death-rcna172874 |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}

= Death =

On 29 July 2024, Vera suffered cardiac arrest while playing soccer with friends.{{Cite web |last=Schad |first=Tom |title=U.S. wrestler Alan Vera dies at 33 after suffering cardiac arrest during soccer game |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/09/25/alan-vera-wrestler-dies-at-33/75379585007/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}} He was hospitalized and died on September 23, 2024 at the age of 33.{{cite web |last=Dar |first=Zahid Rashid |date=September 24, 2024 |title=Two-time US National Champion Alan Vera passes away following 8 week-long stay in the ICU due to cardiac arrest |url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/olympics/news-two-time-us-national-champion-alan-vera-passes-away-following-sudden-cardiac-arrest-playing-soccer-last-month |website=Sportskeeda}}{{cite web |last=Abbott |first=Gary |date=September 24, 2024 |title=Greco-Roman National Team member Alan Vera, 33, has passed away |url=https://www.themat.com/news/2024/september/24/greco-roman-national-team-member-alan-vera-33-has-passed-away |website=USA Wrestling}}