Santiago de Chile. – Leuris Pupo is a reliable athlete. He was expected to win gold, but during the Pan American Games in Guadalajara-2011, he faced an obstacle when his pistol jammed while he was in the lead, unable to continue.
He won his first title in Pan American Games in the 25-meter rapid fire pistol at Santo Domingo-2003. He held onto the crown in Rio-2007 and won silver medals in Toronto-2015 and Lima-2019. Recently, at Santiago-2023, he made a comeback and became the sole Pan American rapid-fire athlete to secure three championship titles.
Despite receiving accolades like the Olympic gold in London-2012 and runner-up in Tokyo-2020, earning another medal was still significant to him.
"To keep winning gold medals is every athlete's dream. It is a very important achievement in my sports career. This cycle was atypical; there were Central American and Caribbean Games, and now Pan American Games, so getting this medal gives me more strength to move forward," said Pupo.
About the contest, he explained that the qualifying round was not "as I usually do (286), but with the pressure of the competition it is normal". In the second stage he scored 292 points, and in the final he won with 30 points.
He had arrived in Santiago as Cuba's first qualifier for Paris-2024, which will be his seventh Olympics.
"Getting there takes a lot of sacrifice and will. Shooting is a complicated sport, but I have grown in the face of difficulties. Even if I don't have ammunition, even if the weaponry is old, I don't think about that," he said.
He highlighted the work of his coach, Meinardo Torres, and his teammates, who always support him.
This victory is the 33rd of the sport shooting in continental events.
