2022 is coming to an end and, just around this time, the moment is ideal to analyze the main successes and failures of Cuban sport in the year, as well as the events that left their mark in the history books.
Various disciplines experienced events with a special meaning in the twelve months that ended. Canoeing and judo saw how two of their practitioners climbed to the top in the traditional vote that chooses the athletes of the year in Cuba.
Yarisleidis Cirilo rose as the best athlete of 2022 and Andy Granda emulated her among the men.
The judoka Granda established himself as absolute world champion in the +100 kg division, in addition to being crowned as Pan American monarch.
For their part, Cirilo and his partner Katherin Nuevo became the first Cubans to win a gold medal at the World Canoeing Championships in Canada. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Olympic champion, Serguey Torres, once again climbed to the podium in a top-level event. Nuevo and Torres were also included among the ten outstanding athletes of 2022.
Overall, canoeing totaled gold and silver medals and places four and five in the world championships; six gold, two silver and one bronze medals in world cups; and one gold and three silvers in the Pan American Championship.
Boxing, the “flagship of Cuban sports,” had a season without multiple games or world championships, but two events marked a before and after. We refer to the professional debut of the “Tamers” in May and the incorporation in recent days of women to their practice officially in our country. In the current month, the first poster for the ladies was held and left very good impressions among fans and specialists.
In dialogue with Radio Havana Cuba (RHC), the Head of the National Technical Collective, Rolando Acebal, told us about these developments:
“The practice was barely officially opened and in their first competition it seemed that they had been training for a long time. It is true that nothing can be doubted about the Cuban woman! We are sure that a medal can be achieved in the upcoming Central American Games.”
Regarding the traditional “engine” of national sports, which constitutes the men’s sector and the novelty of professionalism, the manager told us:
“A milestone has been marked in history, we have done quite well. A total of 17 fights have taken place and we have only lost two. The athletes are quite motivated, they are already located in good places within the ranking and next year they should already have options to fight for the title”.
Baseball experienced a new Cuban title for the Alazanes de Granma in the 61st National Series (SNB), and the premiere of a tournament destined to raise the ceiling of this sport on the island: the Cuban Baseball Elite League (LEBC).
Its genesis excited more than one, but the truth is that from the organizational point of view there were many gaps that harmed the championship, even before the first ball was thrown. It is urgent for the next edition of this tournament to guarantee everything with enough time so that the name of a necessary event is honored and that hopefully it will come to stay.
Internationally, encouraging results were achieved in lower categories and the news that players who play in the American Major Leagues could represent the island in the upcoming World Classic was reported as a pleasant taste among the fans. However, the greatest joys did not come from baseball, but from two “cousins” belonging to the same federation.
The leading roles were played by softball, one of the best team sports of the year, reaching an outstanding fifth place in the world championship; and baseball 5, a very young specialty in the foreign context and that has its roots in Cuba with the so-called four corners or ball in hand.
The modality lived its first World Cup and the Cubans won the crown in a fabulous competition. This achievement earned them to secure themselves as the most outstanding team of the year in Cuba.
When it comes to teams, in the last 365 days volleyball has been recognized as the best collective sport, after reaching the top in the Final Four, the Final Six, the Pan American Cup and the FIVB Challenger Cup, and 14th place in the world indoor championship, with Jesús Herrera (M) as the best team sport athlete. To these fabulous results must be added places one, two and three in Norceca stops, and 17th in the world beach championship.
Handball won the Caribbean Cup and qualified for the next Central American Games in San Salvador. Niurkis Moras was chosen as the best female in collective disciplines.
Sport shooting was another of the specialties that remained among the highlights of athletic activity in the Greater Antilles, despite the logistical limitations imposed by the US blockade on the acquisition of essential implements for its development.
Its maximum historical exponent, Leuris Pupo from Holguin, stood out again, winning the Pan American of the modality and becoming the first Cuban to secure his ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Once again, the only Olympic champion of the island in this sport was ranked in the top 10 athletes of the year in Cuba.
Chess had an excellent season, climaxing at the Chennai Olympiad in India. Both teams coincidentally placed 19th in their rankings. The men signed creditable victories over Hungary and Azerbaijan, as well as draws against Ukraine and Spain.
All the members of the squad added points for their Elo, with Yasser Quesada and Carlos Daniel Albornoz as main references; the performance of the latter contributed to his election among the ten best athletes of the year in Cuba. For the women, Lisandra Ordaz defended the first board with dignity, while Yarisbel Miranda and the national queen Yaniela Forgás signed an excellent tournament.
Another sport that maintained good results was diving. The synchronized platform duo, made up of Luis Gustavo Cañabate and Carlos Daniel Ramos, placed sixth in the world championship.
Basque pelota, a discipline without much media coverage within the country, but which has a respectful track record, this year won the bronze medal worldwide in the form of frontennis. This achievement allowed Daniela Darriba to place herself among the vanguard athletes on the island.
Cycling made headlines again in 2022 through its main figure Arlenis Sierra. The “Sierra de Cuba” was sixth in the World Road Championship and was Pan-American champion. She also starred in outstanding performances as a member of the Movistar club in prestigious European circuits, such as the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.
Athletics had one of lime and another of sand in planetary events. In the indoor world championships, gold was won in the triple jump, through Lázaro Martínez. Meanwhile, the outdoor fair left the disappointment of not achieving podiums, falling below the historical performances in this type of competition. However, it is worth mentioning the laudable performances of Leyanis Pérez and Maykel Massó, who were very close to the medals with their fourth positions.
Regarding sports for people with disabilities, Suslaidy Girat (parathlete of the year) stood out with two gold and one silver medals in the 2022 Deaflympics, and Robiel Yanquiel Sol (outstanding male parathlete), both parathletes, and Sheyla Hernández, parajudo. who reached the silver medal in the IBSA world championships.
We have reviewed some of the main events within the athletic scene in Cuba in the year that is ending, which leaves us with 98 Pan American tickets, 322 Central American tickets and an Olympic quota.
The coming 2023 will be full of competitions with the presence of our sports movement. The World Baseball Classic (from March 8 to 21), the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador (June 23 to July 8), the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile (October 20 to November 5) deserve special mention. ) and the fifth edition of the ALBA Sports Games.
