Cuban volleyball player leaves the team during competition in Canada.

The Cuban volleyball player Yumichael Lawrence escaped this Tuesday from the national team in Quebec, Canada, where the team is participating in the Norceca Final Six Tournament, which will run until August 28.

The 22-year-old player -who served as the libero for the team- left the sports delegation the day after the Cuban team arrived in Canadian territory to participate in the event, according to the sports media Play Off Magazine.

So far, no additional details have emerged about the circumstances under which the athlete is said to have escaped, nor have official Cuban media confirmed or denied the news.

Yumichael Lawrence had been part of the Cuba team in the lower categories and, more recently, had participated in international competitions as a member of the B team of the senior national team.

He was named best libero and best defender in the 2023 U23 Pan American Volleyball Cup and best libero in the Cuban National League in the 2022-2023 edition.

The decision to flee from the team would have left the selection with only ten players, as out of the 14 allowed for each selection, only ten traveled to Quebec, according to the cited media.

The Cuban team lost its first match in three sets against Mexico (25-22, 25-9, and 25-21), but won the second against Puerto Rico (25-23, 26-24, and 25-20), as reported by JIT on X.

The migratory exodus of athletes through various means has generated a significant decline in Cuban sports in recent years, something that was once again evidenced in the recent Olympics held in Paris, where the Cuban delegation ranked 32nd in the medal table.

In the case of volleyball, two outstanding talents competed in the Olympic event for other nations.

They were Wilfredo León, who won a silver medal with the Poland team, and Melissa Vargas, who achieved a respectable fourth place with the Turkey national team. On a personal level, Vargas had an outstanding performance.

The once-stellar Cuban women's volleyball team, which won three Olympic titles (Barcelona 92, Atlanta 96, and Sydney 2000), in addition to the bronze in Athens 2004, has not qualified for the Olympics since Beijing 2008, when they finished in fourth place.