INDER destroys world championship aspirations of prominent Cuban freediver.

The National Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER) crushed the aspirations of the Cuban Lemay Gutiérrez to participate in the World Apnea Championship, as denounced by the athlete himself on his Facebook profile.

After arguing the lack of budget, the entity defended its decision with the economic crisis affecting the country and, in this way, dismissed the intense preparation developed by the double world sub-monarch of the specialty.

After learning that he will not be in the city of Belgrade, Serbia from July 4 to 17, Gutiérrez expressed regret over the stance of the governmental entity, which is also aimed at prioritizing the athletes who will participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

As many already know, I had the opportunity to participate last year, achieving two silver medals and the current Pan American record. This year, I have prepared like never before, significantly improving my personal bests with one goal in mind: "to bring a gold to Cuba," he wrote.

Likewise, he acknowledged the enormous sacrifice involved in "achieving optimal shape," which is why "it hurts a lot and I feel very sad that these things happen. I don't know what will happen from now on... but believe me, I am in deep pain."

With this absence, the Cuban loses the opportunity to qualify for the World Games, which will include Apnea, Adapted Apnea, and Fin Swimming in the pool, to be held from August 7 to 17, 2025 in Chengdu, China.

With over two decades of experience in diving and as a diving coach at Hotel Memories Jibacoa, the Caribbean holds the continental primacy in the dynamic monofin modality, in which he covered 213 meters in 3:00 minutes in a 50-meter pool.

According to specialized media, sports apnea or free diving is a discipline that is based on the voluntary suspension of breathing underwater and is divided into three main modalities: static, dynamic, and depth.

In the case of the latter, Cuba enjoyed for several years the outstanding performances of Déborah Andollo, who managed to set more than 15 world records and is considered one of the great stars of underwater sports.