In academic terms, it can be said that Cuba improved its score in the 19th World Athletics Championship concluded on Sunday in Budapest, Hungary, where it ranked 17th in points, with 27 units, in addition to a silver medal and two bronze medals.
The Cuban delegation shared that position with Sweden, while in the medal count it finished in 25th place, so the goal of improving the previous performance in Eugene 2022 was achieved, something that is undoubtedly positive.
A year ago, the athletes of the Caribbean Island ranked 29th by country with 15 units and no medals, with two fourth places, a sixth and a seventh, in an event in which they left without a podium for the first time in the history of these events.
At that time it seemed that the discipline had hit rock bottom, but thanks to the perseverance of the athletes, their coaches and directors, there is a light in the horizon, although there is still much room for improvement.
Now, in Hungarian territory, the triple jumpers, in both sexes, were in charge of bringing the greatest joys to the Caribbean nation, which has historically had important results in the top-level athletic scenarios.
Among men, Lazaro Martinez and Cristian Napoles took second and third place, respectively, in the triple jump final, ending the momentary “drought” in these universal competitions.
Martinez, indoor world champion in Belgrade, Serbia, last year, reached his prize with 17.41 meters (m); while Napoles (17.40 m) followed him with a personal best, just one centimeter (cm) behind his teammate.
Up to the fifth round, both athletes were 1-2 in that modality, but Hugues Fabrice Zango, from Burkina Faso, stretched to 17.64 m to win the golden metal.
Then came the performance of Leyanis Perez, who took bronze with a very good 14.96 m in his first attempt, just two centimeters away from his lifetime best.
Perez, who placed fourth at the Eugene 2022 World Championships, this time was able to climb the podium and confirm her status as one of the world’s elite triathletes.
The performance of her compatriot Liadagmis Povea (14.87 m), fifth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, also deserves special mention, and she now finished in sixth place, proving once again that she is among the best in the triple jump.
In other outstanding performances, high jumper Luis Enrique Zayas came close to the bronze medal and showed his competitive gene in challenging competitions.
With an outdoor personal best of 2.33 m, Zayas finished with the same record as Qatar’s Mutasz Essa Barshim, who won the bronze because he made fewer mistakes in the competition.
Champion of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, he, who placed fifth and sixth in the Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022 editions, respectively, now improved those performances with a meritorious fourth place, so he continues to show signs that he is in the vanguard group of the high jump.
Also for the Caribbean island were included among the 12 finalists the young Silinda Morales, eleventh in the discus throw; and Alejandro Parada, tenth in the long jump, athletes who more than fulfilled and have conditions to progress in their performance.
For Cuba, the World Championship of Athletics in Budapest left pending tasks such as the title that has not been conquered since Doha 2019, although the improvement with respect to Eugene 2022 is evident.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games already seem to be on the horizon as the next great challenge, and hopefully more medals of any color will be won there, and if one of them is gold, so much the better.
