The Pan American Judo Confederation praised on its official website the recent victory of Iván Silva (90 kg) at the Grand Slam in Antalya, Turkey. The Cuban is seventh in the world ranking, with 2,880 points, among more than one hundred athletes in his division.
The recognition refers to the five wins, the winner by ippon, and the quality of this sport on the Island which, together with Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, the Dominican Republic and the United States, will be a strong protagonist in the next championship. continental headquarters in Lima, from the 13th to the 15th of this month.
The Cubans will participate having in their favor a month of preparation and competitions, in a training base in France, and participation in several European competitions. In the previous version of the Pan American, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, on April 15 and 16 of last year, medals were discussed in seven women’s divisions and the same for men.
Cuba, with two gold medals and the same amount of silver, finished third in the 2021 edition; behind Brazil, which swept away with seven gold, four silver and three bronze awards, while Ecuador finished second by adding (2-2-3), among the 16 countries that animated the event.
The gold winners for the Cubans were, in the women’s, Odelín Arnaez (57 kg) over the Brazilian Ketelin Nascimento, and for the men Magdiel Estrada (73), at the expense of the Peruvian Alonso Wong. Estrada couldn’t do himself justice in the Antalya tournament, he lost in his first outing, but he should be a strong contender now in Lima.
In the previous continental event, the silver medals of Cuba went to Orlando Polanco (60 kg), surpassed by the Brazilian William Lima, and Kaliema Antomarchi (78), who fell at the hands of the Ecuadorian Vanessa Chalá.
