Daniela Fonseca, in table tennis, and boxer Ronny Alvarez served as the Cuban delegation’s flag bearers at the closing ceremony of the First Pan American Junior Games that, beginning last November 25, hosted by the city of Cali and other localities of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, leading their celebration of placing fifth among participating countries, highlighting the quality of the island’s athletes.
The harvest of 70 medals - 29 gold, 15 won by our young men and 14 for the women - allowed the delegation to achieve a higher ranking than strong nations like Argentina, reflecting of the hard work of our young athletes to achieve these results and in accordance with the commitment to gender equity, an issue emphasized by the International Olympic Committee.
Our athletes shone more brightly because, as they pointed out in their statements, they are in the training stage of their careers, not truly in competition, as was the case of our track and field athletes, which in August competed in the Nairobi World Youth Championships, and during these Games the young women won six gold medals, including the gold and silver duo of Silinda Morales and Melany Matheus, and three first places for the men.
The three gold medals, two gold and one bronze, won by Anisley Garcia in diving, and the ten in wrestling, the sport that contributed the most medals (seven for men and three for women), with a special mention for Arturo Silot (97 kilograms), who defeated Peter Casale of the United States, the world's leading country in the freestyle competition.
Cuba’s young boxers also delivered an outstanding performance, winning four gold medals, while canoeing shone with Katherine Nuevo, all within a delegation that gave its all in every event.
Cuba won medals in 14 of the 26 sports in which the delegation participated, that is, more than 50%. The fact that our country did not compete in 190 of the 311 events, yet placed fifth, reflects the competitive efficiency achieved by the delegation.
