Cuban athletics will finally attend with 40 athletes, including its world medalists, to the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile, announced officials of the king of sports on the island.
According to the forecasts of the National Commission, 10 medals (1-2-8) are expected to be won, although this goal could vary – that is, the booty could be greater -, since it has been made taking into account the ranking and quality of the rivals, but still without having access to all the final entries.
Cuba’s main winning cards will be in the triple jump, with the three medalists of the recent Budapest world championship, Lázaro Martínez, Leyanis Pérez and Cristian Nápoles.
Other prestigious figures in the delegation are three-time world finalist Luis Zayas (high jump), Olympic and world triple jump finalist Liadagmis Povea and Budapest-2023 finalists Silinda Morales (discus) and young Alejandro Parada (long jump).
Also included in the group are the world champions of the 4×400 relay in Silesia-2021: Roxana Gómez, Zurian Hechavarría, Lisneidy Veitía, Rose Mary Almanza and Sahily Diago, who will also be in their individual events.
Four years ago in Lima, Cuban athletics won nine medals (5-2-2).
Of the five 2019 monarchs – Juan Miguel Echevarría (long jump), Yarisley Silva (pole vault), Yaimé Pérez (discus), Adriana Rodríguez (heptathlon) and Luis Enrique Zayas (high jump), only the latter repeats in the current delegation. The others broke their ties with Cuban athletics, retired or are recovering from injuries, in the case of Adriana.
Since the Pan American Games will be held on an atypical date, after the World Championships and the Diamond League, many of the superstars of athletics in the region will not be present at the event.
However, some stars are confirmed, such as 400m world champion Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic, Canadian hammer thrower Camryn Rogers (gold in Budapest), and 400m Olympic runner-up Anthony Zambrano from Colombia.
Also the Peruvian two-time world champion in race-walking, Kimberly García, the javelin silver medalist Flor Ruiz, from Colombia, the world discus runner-up Fedrick Dracres (Jamaica) and other medalists in top-level events.
