The Youth Athletics World Championship held in the week ending in Lima, Peru, will be remembered by Cuban athletics for the sad mark of not having placed any of its 10 representatives on the winners' podium, with only three of them making it to the finals.
The forecasts were reserved, especially because the preparation had not been anywhere near sufficient. The little that was available was allocated to the athletes who would participate in the Paris Olympic Games, who, by the way, also could not achieve medals.
The hurdler Jocelyn Echazábal, the triple jumper Gian Carlos Baxter, and to a lesser extent, another hurdler, Yander Herrera, had chances; although in Yander's case, he didn’t even have rivals in his own area, so in the few competitions he faced, namely “Barrientos” and Copa Cuba, he practically ran alone.
The complete lack of experience of the 10 Cuban representatives (in other instances, the situation regarding this aspect had been similar); traveling very close to the competition; the drastic change in temperature, from the suffocating Caribbean heat to the cold of the Peruvian capital; the lack of resources to prepare well at the Pan American Stadium, which doesn't even have water, are just some facets of this unfortunate situation.
Should we blame the athletes or the coaches? That, just like in Paris, the athletes didn't manage to achieve their best marks as they logically should have if the preparation cycles were correct?
It may be that there is some truth to the last part, but I lean more towards the lack of preparation, the unfamiliarity with the opponent, the unaccustomed feeling of seeing a stadium full of fans when the pressure peaks, the inability to face completely unknown situations for most of them, if not all, and perhaps… the lack of motivation, of drive, of interest that used to characterize our athletes and that is increasingly harder to find in them!
Jocelyn - a personal best of 13 seconds and six hundredths that placed her third in the world ranking (without competing), had a medal in her hand, but unfortunately fell and finished last in the final of the 100 meter hurdles.
Baxter -16.20 meters as his personal best- finished sixth, falling short of his best mark after recording only 15.68. The other triple jumper in the competition, Anthony Martínez, with exactly 15 meters, could not place among the top eight.
Yander arrived at the World Championship ranked 21st with a best time of 13.50, running practically alone, and in Lima he was expected to run between 13.20 and 13.30, which he did not achieve.
He agonizingly qualified for the final and there he finished fifth with a personal best of 13.46, being the best placed among the Cubans.
Yander showed technical deficiencies in his performance over the hurdles, something that he and his coach Doval need to correct, in addition to the fact that the boy suffers from cramps in his calves, which must be treated immediately.
Camila Rodríguez was unable to reach the semifinals in the 400 meters; the triple jumper Ariday Girón finished 15th in group A; the shot putter Enmanuel Ramírez placed tenth, and the shot putter Neylín Rodríguez, the long jumper Dianelys Alacán, and the javelin thrower Javier Noris were all out of contention.
Nevertheless, despite this deplorable performance, as someone who loves the countryside and the track, I foresee a promising future for some of these young men, but… they need to be taken care of! It is the beginning of an Olympic cycle, during which we must be concerned and involved, because the success of these young athletes, as well as some who are a bit older, will determine whether we repeat the failure of Paris.
Other times are running, the sport is not the same as in the days of Figuerola, Miguelina or Hermes, of Juantorena and María Caridad, of Iván, Sotomayor or Ana Fidelia, not even the days of Osleydis, Yipsi and Dayron.
Today’s athletes do not want to have morning breakfasts with political speeches, nor to have lunch with slogans, or dinner meetings that are “educational.” That is in the past! And believe me, if things don’t change, no other Cuban defending our flag will ever reach a podium again, whether in the world or the Olympics!
Despite the adverse training conditions, individual talents can emerge, geniuses so to speak, but... those geniuses will seek other realities! We had examples nearby when three representatives of the Cuban triple jump school won medals at Paris 2024 while competing under other national flags.
Sports are a way of life, and from an early age, resources are invested in the development of certain athletes around the world. In Cuba, that does not exist. There are no sponsors, no capital that could be used for them to propel them to glory. There is neither the proper nutrition nor the energy supplements needed for high performance.
A distressing situation is being experienced at the Pan American Stadium with the shortage of water, among other deficiencies such as very poor, insufficient, and precarious food, with which it is impossible to maintain the required workloads for good training. And I speak from the experience of having spent four decades alongside the Cuban athletics field and track.
These 10 athletes and others who remained in Cuba are essential for the Olympic cycle that has just begun and will culminate in Los Angeles 2028; caring for them is crucial.
The World Youth Athletics Championships was held in Peru with the participation of more than 1,700 athletes from 134 countries, and unfortunately, no Cuban won a medal, an unprecedented event as noted by experts.
There is no other way: taking care of these athletes, giving them what they deserve, is the only path if we want to return to the Olympic podium in athletics at Los Angeles 2028.
What do you think?
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