Cuban discus thrower Leonardo Díaz wins bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games

The Cuban discus throwerLeonardo Diaz Aldana, the oldest of the athletes in the Cuban delegation participating in the XVI Paralympic Games, won a bronze medal this Monday with a throw of 43.36 meters.

With two gold medals and a bronze obtained in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 events, the 46-year-old from Granma - classified as F56 - is also the most experienced in the Cuban delegation, only behind the five-time champion Omara Durand.

“Being the active man with the most medals in the delegation is as compromising as being the oldest and most experienced”, said the athlete in statements to theCuban press.

“Many say that I am a 'mechador', since I practically live inside the gym, but this is part of the physical preparation. How could I increase strength to carry the puck further?” he asks, and states that “anyone who dedicates themselves to highly competitive sports has to be prepared for the sacrifices it demands.”

“Any athlete who has been in two or three cycles knows that they will be away from home for a long time, that they will not see their children grow up and that they will not be at home to help solve problems of daily life. That's why in every medal they come first," Díaz Aldana also said.

Leonardo Díaz Aldana, who in his youth - when he was doing active military service - suffered an accident that affected his spine, began in the sports world as a wrestler.

As a discus thrower, his record is to be a four-time World Cup champion with victories in the events of New Zealand 2011, France 2013, Doha 2015 and London 2017.

The records in that test - F56 category - are held by Brazilian Claudiney Batista Dos Santos: 46.68 since the 2018 world championship, and 45.33 since Rio de Janeiro 2016.

Cuba participates in these XVI Paralympic Games with adelegation made up of 16 athletes who compete in athletics, weightlifting, judo, table tennis, cycling, shooting, and swimming.

Leinier Savón won the first medal for the Cuban delegation at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, after winning a silver medal in the long jump event, category T12 (visual impairment), with a jump of 7.16 meters that also constituted a Pan-American record.

Globally, the Paralympics are made up of 4,400 competitors from 160 countries.