2024-07-04 22:57:37
Text: Raul del Pino
Photo: Jorge Luis Borges | CN360
We have talked a lot about Cuban sport on the road to the Paris Olympics, about the long qualifying process since the last event in Tokyo, and how the number of tickets has been increasing slowly in recent months until finally falling below expectations.
But if it is already a fact that Cuba will go to the French capital with the smallest delegation in the last 60 years, as INDER recently acknowledged, there is a good chance that the record of Cuban athletes competing under the five rings representing other flags will be broken – or at least equalled.
After the 22 athletes born in the archipelago who competed in Japan in the summer of 2021 with other delegations, the number for Paris is close to twenty and should exceed it when the disciplines that will award places by ranking reveal their final lists on June 30.
So far, 15 athletes who will defend the colors of nine nations have confirmed their tickets to France, in addition to two who will do so on the Refugee Olympic Team. Of this still incomplete list, the presence of Santiago native Pedro Pablo Pichardo stands out, who became the first Cuban Olympic champion for another country when he won the triple jump in Tokyo 2021.
In this particular discipline, the biggest battle in history between those trained at the Caribbean island’s diving school is expected, as up to seven could make it to the final on August 9 at the majestic Stade de France in Paris.
Pichardo’s main challenger for Olympic gold is clearly the Havana native Jordan Díaz, representing Spain. Both jumpers were involved in a tough battle at the recent European Championships, which was won by the disciple of Iván Pedroso with a phenomenal jump of 18.18 metres, compared to 18.04 by the naturalised Portuguese.
They will be joined by Andy Díaz from the capital for Italy, a champion of the last two Diamond Leagues, and veteran Alexis Copello from Azerbaijan still has a chance of obtaining a place. Meanwhile, for Cuban athletics, the silver and bronze medalists from the last world championship, Lázaro Martínez and Christian Nápoles, respectively, will be present, while the young Andy Echevarría is also waiting for his place via ranking.
Another sport that will have a varied presence from the Antilles is boxing, with a promising second part of the dispute between the now Spanish Enmanuel Reyes and the double Olympic champion Julio César La Cruz in the -92 kilos. Likewise, the featherweight Javier Ibáñez hopes to win a medal for Bulgaria in the 57 kilos, the same objective that will be pursued by the Pinar del Río native, naturalized Azerbaijani, Loren Alfonso, who already won the bronze three years ago in the 81 kilos.
We will also see Cubans playing other national sports in athletics, judo, wrestling and Greco-Roman events, but where they will surely shine the most will be in volleyball, as they are the stars of their respective national teams. Such is the case of Wilfredo León (Poland) and Melissa Vargas (Turkey), both considered the best volleyball players in the world in each gender. Likewise, Yoandy Leal will try to help Brazil return to the Olympic podium.
And in Paris, for the first time, two Cuban athletes will compete in the Refugee Team, with the presence of the champion of Tokyo, Fernando Dayán Jorge from Cienfuegos, in the C-1 at 1000 meters, and the weightlifter from Santiago Ramiro Mora who will step onto the platform in the 102 kilos.
Of course, the inclusion of Cubans in this type of delegation raised a controversy among the island’s government, since they claimed that both athletes do not meet the requirements to qualify in the refugee category, but the truth is that even the discus throwers Denia Cabellero and Yaimé Pérez could also have been part of that selection.
Cubans who will compete for other countries confirmed for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
| No. | Names | Sport | Specialty | Country | Place of Birth |
| 1 | Peter Paul Pichardo | Athletics | Triple jump | Portugal | Santiago de Cuba |
| 2. | Arialys Gandulla | Athletics | 100 metros | Portugal | Hundred fires |
| 3 | Emmanuel Reyes | Boxing | -92 kg | Spain | Havana |
| 4 | Jordan Diaz | Athletics | Triple Jump | Spain | Havana |
| 5 | Maria Celia Laborde | Judo | -48 kg | EU | Guantanamo |
| 6 | Fernando Dayan Jorge | Rafting | C-1 1000m | EO Refugees | Hundred fires |
| 7 | Ramiro Mora | weightlifting | 102 kg | EO Refugees | Santiago de Cuba |
| 8 | Andy Diaz | Athletics | Triple jump | Italia | Holy Spirit |
| 9 | Frank Chamizo | Wrestling | -74 kg | Italia | Matanzas |
| 10 | Yasmani Copello | Athletics | 400 m/v | Türkiye | Havana |
| 11 | Melissa Vargas | Volleyball | Sala | Türkiye | Hundred fires |
| 12 | Nestor Almanza | Greco wrestling | -67 kilos | Chile | Havana |
| 13 | Yasmani Acosta | Greco wrestling | 130 kilos | Chile | Matanzas |
| 14 | Wilfredo Leon | Volleyball | Sala | Poland | Santiago de Cuba |
| 15 | Yoandy leal | Volleyball | Sala | Brazil | Havana |
| 16 | Loren Alfonso | Boxing | -81 kg | Azerbaijan | Havana |
| 17 | Javier Ibanez | Boxing | -57 kg | Bulgaria | Matanzas |