Cuba will take 21 athletes to the 19th World Championships in Budapest (Aug. 19-27), including star triple jumpers Lazaro Martinez and Leyanis Perez, the Cuban Athletics Federation announced Sunday.
The list of called-up athletes includes Martinez, world indoor champion in Belgrade-2022, and Leyanis, fourth in the outdoor World Championships in Eugene-2022 and current leader of the prestigious Diamond League.
“We tried to include all those who earned the right, both for meeting the marks required by World Athletics (WA), as by the world ranking,” said the manager of the island’s national team, Jorge Luis Aguilera, speaking to Radio Habana Cuba (www.radiohc.cu).
The manager said that the greatest medal options are in the triple, with Lazarito, Leyanis, without ruling out Liadagmis Povea “involved in a great season”.
Martinez, 25 years old and also two-time world U-20 champion, is Cuba’s big bet to climb the podium, which eluded Cuba for the first time in the history of the world championships in Eugene-2022.
“He has recovered well from a slight discomfort in one of his feet due to a bad step and will be at 100 percent at the world championships,” Aguilera assured, clearing any doubt about the form of the recent champion of the Centrocaribes in San Salvador with 17.51m, his best result of the season with legal wind.
Another athlete with great potential to climb the podium in Budapest is the triple jumper Leyanis Perez (21 years old), who has had an exceptional year by improving her personal best four times, setting it at 14.98m, when she escorted the phenomenal Yulimar Rojas at the Centrocaribes in San Salvador last month.
Also on the list are Olympic triple jump finalist Povea, with a 14.85 that gave her the bronze medal in the Salvadoran capital, very close to her personal best (14.93), double world triple jump finalist Cristian Nápoles (17.34 this year), triple jumper Cristian Nápoles (17.34 this year), triple jumper Yulimar Rojas (14.98m) and triple jumper Yulimar Rojas (14.98m). 34 this year), the high jumper fifth in Qatar-2019, Luis Zayas, (PB of 2.31 this year), the 22-year-old discus jumper Silinda Morales (PB of 65.06m) and the sprinter Yunisleydis García, author of national record of 11.08 in the 100m that again excited the lovers of speed.
Most of the selected athletes participated this season in the traditional European tour with satisfactory results.
“We are happy with the results of the tour, although we have to be ambitious. A world championship is a big thing,” said Aguilera.
He praised the results of Leyanis, who should be about to surpass 15m, according to his opinion, Povea, Morales and sprinter García, as well as the stability of Roxana Gómez, Olympic finalist in the 400m.
He regretted the absence of Maykel Massó, Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo and recently operated on a knee injury, although he said that the inclusion of young Alejandro Parada, a 19-year-old talent and recently crowned champion in San Salvador, is encouraging.
Several eligible athletes will be out of the world championships after dissociating themselves from the Cuban Athletics Federation, among them discus athletes Yaime Perez and Denia Caballero, sprinter Reynier Mesa, and hurdler Roger Valentin.
Cuba’s best performance in the history of the world championships took place in Athens-97, where the island finished in a phenomenal third place in the medals table with six medals (4-1-1), only behind powers such as the United States and Germany.
In that event, Javier Sotomayor (high jump), Iván Pedroso (long jump), Yoelbis Quesada (triple jump) and Ana Fidelia Quirós (800m) won gold medals, Norberto Téllez was runner-up in the same distance, and Aliecer Urrutia won bronze in the triple jump.
Its worst performance was last year in Eugene, when it left without a medal for the first time in its history.
Cuban athletics team to Budapest-2023
1. Yanisleydis García 100m and 200m
2. Roxana Gomez 400m
3. Rose Almanza 800m
4. Leyanis Perez Triple
5. Liadagmis Povea Triple
6. Silinda Morales Discus
7. Luis E. Zayas High Jump
8. Eduardo Napoles Pole Vault
9. Alejandro Parada Long Jump
10. Lazaro Martinez Triple Jump
11. Cristian Napoles Triple
12. Mario Diaz Discus
13. Ronald Mecías Hammer
14. Yasmani Fernández Hammer
15. Zurian Hechavarria 400 c/v
16. Greysis Roble 100 c/v
17. Lisneidys Veitía 4×400
18. Yarima Garcia 4×100
19. Laura Moreira 4×100
20. Enis Perez 4×100
