Andy Granda and Iván Silva have fulfilled the forecasts Photo: Endrys Correa Vaillant
Santiago de Chile – Idalys Ortiz has long become a legend of Cuban judo and sport in general. Four-time Olympic medalist, world champion, four-time Central American and Caribbean champion and, as of Monday, four-time Pan American queen.
Idalys did not arrive in Santiago-2023 in 100% athletic shape. She had competed very few times this year, but her commitment to the discipline and delegation was undiminished.
The Cuban flag bearer of this continental competition had to face the most difficult competitor, who she dreamed would be in the final. The draw indicated that Idalys would face Brazil’s Beatriz Souza after defeating Chile’s Katherine Quevedo.
Before Santiago, they had met nine times, with six victories for the Cuban and three for the South American, the last at the 2023 Pan American and Oceanic Championships.
Idalys tried not to exhaust herself and won by ippon before the end of regulation time as Souza received three warnings. In the semifinals she won easily against the Dominican Moira Morillo, and in the final against the Colombian Brigitte Carabalí, in the same way as against Souza.
“Each of us athletes has developed a strategy. We have met on different stages and know each other well, even if we have met very little in recent years. I have stayed away from the big international tournaments, but we have one “We made a plan based on the previous fights and it was optimal,” she explained about the duel with Souza.
“I think I’m at 60 percent of what is considered optimal condition. We hope to reach 100 percent at the Olympics,” she said.
Idalys and Driulys González are the only Cuban judoka with four Pan American titles. “For me this is a great source of pride. Before this event I already had all the international federation titles, but every competition is a new challenge. Every day I think about the next competition and winning a medal is my next challenge” .
After the Tokyo Olympics, Idalys said that she would not give up active sports. The titles that followed proved her right. “At the time, I believed that it was possible to continue with these results for three more years and I don’t think the Olympics will be an exception,” she said.
To this medal were added two more, namely those of two-time Pan American champions Iván Silva (90 kg) and Andy Granda (100 kg).
Silva was able to keep his clean slate in all fights and only received one warning in the last fight against the Brazilian Rafael Macedo, whom he had already defeated six times.
“The tournament was of a high level because many of the American judoka prepare all year round in Europe, at the highest level of the world’s best. I was focused in every fight because we came here for the gold medal “To win, and to do that we had to risk as little as possible,” said Silva.
He added that against Macedo, most of his victories came through physical superiority and hold dominance.
Andy Granda, like Idalys, started with one of the favorites, the Brazilian Rafael Silva, whom he defeated by ippon, the same result he achieved against the Dominican José Nova and the Chilean Francisco Solís.
He knew of the great support of the audience for Solís, but “I was very sure of my strategy, which was to look for my tactical moment because the Chilean tends to get desperate. That moment came and of course the victory.
To date, Cuban judo has won five gold medals and one bronze medal. Today is the team competition, in which Brazil is the main competitor.
2023-10-31 14:47:48
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