Discus thrower Adriana González will be the sole athlete representing the province of Las Tunas at the upcoming IV Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, according to sports officials. The international multi-sport competition is scheduled to run from October 31 to November 13.
González secured her place on the 12-athlete Cuban delegation following preparations that ultimately left Las Tunas with a single representative. Earlier roster considerations had included fencer Roberto Carlos Salazar, but his inclusion did not materialize, cementing González as the lone competitor from the eastern Cuban province.
Inside Cuba’s 12-Athlete Youth Olympic Roster
The Cuban delegation bound for Senegal blends track and field talent with combat sports and team competition. Alongside González in the athletic entries are high jumper Daniselis Reyes from Camagüey and sprinter Banessa Velazco from Santiago de Cuba, who is set to compete in the 200-meter dash.
In combat sports, Pinar del Río native Kayla Pita earned her spot in the judo tournament, competing in the 78-kilogram division. The remaining members of the delegation make up Cuba’s Baseball5 squad, a dynamic five-on-five urban discipline inspired by the traditional street game “cuatro esquinas.”
The Road to Dakar Through Pan American Qualification
The Baseball5 team members are currently training at the Córdoba Cardín High-Performance Athlete Training School in East Havana. A pre-selection squad of 12 players is training at the facility, from which coaches will trim the roster to eight athletes.
Those eight players will travel to Barquisimeto, Venezuela, to contest the Pan American Cup from October 14 to 19. Víctor Corona, a methodologist for the Inder Technical-Methodological Directorate, explained that tournament results in Venezuela will dictate the final lineup that boards the flight to Dakar.
These caps are designed to maintain competitive balance and global representation across the Youth Olympic program.
Cuba’s Historical Standing at the Youth Olympics
For Cuba, the event represents another chapter in a historically strong Youth Olympic tradition.
Across previous editions held in Singapore in 2010, Nanjing in 2014, and Buenos Aires in 2018, Cuban athletes have accumulated 24 medals—comprising 15 gold, 4 silver, and 5 bronze. That medal haul places the country inside the top ten nations in the event’s historical standings, ahead of regional sports powerhouses like Brazil and Colombia.
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