CubaPLUS Magazine

Cuban former high jumper Javier Sotomayor stood out in Havana the national athletics’ potential to face with success the coming international fixtures, among them, the Central American and Caribbean Games, Barranquilla 2018. 

In statements to Prensa Latina, the world record holder highlighted the burst of young athletes into the jump and throwing areas during a prize giving ceremony to the best juvenile sportsmen in the country in 2017, held in the Memorial de la Denuncia (Accusation Memorial). 

He mentioned among the new promises to the triple jumper Jordan Diaz who won the juvenile world title in Nairobi 2017, with 17.30 meters, the longest jump in the history for athletes under 18 years, he also made reference to the long jumper Maikel Masso and the javelin thrower Marisleisys Duarthe. 

Likewise, he praised the Cuban trainers’ work to improve the performance of the inexperienced athletes, and the suitable training with the aim to keep the first place in the Central Caribbean sport event set for July 19 - August 3. 

As far as that’s concerned, Diaz told about the tour made by Europe to reach new victories in his career and he reminded the performance achieved the last weekend during the third national team’s clash event, with 17.32 meters, a result that breaks the previous jump achieved in Kenia’s competition. 

The juvenile star, with just 16 years old, expressed his desire of be a Cuban representation’s member to Barranquilla games, to give to the national fans the gold medal, but he also recognized that the triple jump discipline in our country has a lot of high level athletes with similar performances. 

According to Diaz, the Cuban athletics are very competitive and able to win in the Central Caribbean tournament and to get the highest quantity of medals for our delegation, promoted meanly by the youngest. 

He qualified the training as excellent with a view to face the Barranquilla’s challenge and he also expressed his desire to participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and to get a medal.    

In the last edition of Central Caribbean games held in Veracruz 2014, Cuba obtained 22 gold medals, 14 silver medals and 8 bronze medals, to surpass three times to the second place of the medals table, Mexico who accumulated 8-11-10.