14ymedio, Havana, 16 August 2023 — The hammer thrower Yasmani Fernández, who was included at the last minute in the Cuban team that will participate in the World Athletics Championships, escaped this week. According to the information published this Wednesday by the pro-government media Jit, he “abandoned” the delegation during his stopover in Paris (France). According to the national commissioner of the specialty, Rolando Charroo, the rest of those selected are “focused” on obtaining their best results.
Fernández, according to the same media, was included on a list of 21 athletes due to his location in the ranking. His best record was achieved this year in Havana with a 249.5-foot throw that he recorded during the José Barrientos Memorial, which was held at the Pan-American Stadium.
Cuban athletics is going through a crisis, which increases with Fernández’s abandonment. Commissioner Rolando Charroo said the team of 20 athletes was “in very good shape,” and he limited himself to talking about the number of possible medals they hope to achieve.
“Lázaro Martínez and Cristian Nápoles among the men, as well as Leyanis Pérez and Liadagmis Povea among the women, are the best candidates for medals,” published Play-Off Magazine prior to the Cuban delegation’s trip to Budapest.
The Cuban team is concentrated in the Danubio Arena Hotel. So far two groups have arrived, one from Havana and another from the Spanish town of Guadalajara, where they “trained for several weeks.”
Cuba will open the competition this Saturday, when Ronald Mencía seeks to qualify for the hammer throw. From Sancti Spiritús, he arrives with a personal record of 251.5 feet from last June. In the afternoon of the same day, the discus thrower Mario Díaz will make his debut. His best record is 213.9 feet (2022), but this year he reached a maximum of 209.7.
“The triple jumpers Lázaro Martínez and Cristian Nápoles will be the ’main course’ for the followers of athletics in Cuba,” according to Jit, which also proclaimed Martínez’s record with a jump of 57.7 feet.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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