Guantanamo.- In the world of canoeing competition, the name of Yarisleidis Cirilo Dubois has stood out for some time now. She is a young Cuban who has proven to be an unstoppable force. Most specialists consider her as a favorite to rise to the top at the Paris 2024Olympic Games.
The Guantanamo native shows sufficient merits for such high consideration. Several medals won at the highest level between 2021 and 2023 have catapulted Yarisleidis to stardom in this sport.
Her career has been going from award to award at the highest level, among which her world reigns stand out in the Halifax 2022 and Duisburg 2023 competitions. Added to these achievements are other victories in world cups, such as those achieved in the Barnaul 2021 and Dartmouth 2022 editions, alternating in the C2 events at 200 and 500 meters.
The feat in Duisburg marked a milestone in the history of canoeing on the Island, since there Cirilo became the first Cuban canoeist to be crowned in an individual event at that level, by winning the C1- 200 meters event .
Beyond these titles, there is her dedication and perseverance, a key to other awards added in that period, such as those achieved at the Santiago de Chile 2023 Pan American Games, where she won again.
Far from what one might think, Cirilo’s first links with sport took place far from the water in his native town of El Salvador, a mountainous municipality of Guantánamo.
There he started playing chess and later tried volleyball, which he continued until his arrival at the Caimanera Nautical Academy, where he had Nelson Perales as a guide, his coach now on the national team.
Thanks to the support of his mother, Yaritza, a graduate in Physical Culture, it was in canoeing where the best athlete of the year 2023 in Cuba found her true passion.
Since then she has come a long way defending her position in canoeing with the same impetus as she does in the National Assembly of People’s Power, of which she is the youngest deputy.
To achieve the victory in Paris 2024, the outstanding athlete will have to successfully overcome the tough competition with top-level rivals. In this category, the defending Olympic champion in the C1-200 meters, the American Nevin Harrison, stands out.
The North American won the Tokyo 2020 with a record time of 45.932 seconds. According to the experts, to triumph in the Parisian event, she will be able to improve that time.
María Mailliard (CHI), Sophia Jensen (CAN), Antia Jacome (ESP), Wenjun Lin (CHN) and Annika Loske (GER) will also be hard opponents.
However, if there is one thing Yarisleidis has made clear, it is that she is not afraid of competition. On the contrary, she faces it with determination and courage, for the pride of the Cuban Sports System. Her attitude towards life, her commitment and her achievements are confirmation of what can be achieved through her dedication and love for what she does.
It is well known by her mother, her sister Diorgina – who are also a member of the national canoeing team – and her entire family, which includes sports lovers, especially those who expect another feat from the modest girl from the Costa Rica town, a mountain municipality in the upper east of Cuba.
Translated by Liubis Balart
