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The Cuban swimmer Vladimir Hernández, a 21-year-old freestyler specializing in long distances, was selected to receive a scholarship at the World Aquatics International Center located in Bahrain, becoming the fifth swimmer from the Island to benefit from this program.
According to the national swimming commissioner, Nelson García Fernández, Hernández was supposed to join the center in March, but the war conflict in the Middle East forced a postponement of his arrival until September 2026.
Bahrain, a small island state in the Persian Gulf, is located in a high-tension area due to the war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, which began in late March, affecting the operations of facilities throughout the region.
Hernández will compete in the 400, 800, and 1,500 meter freestyle events, and is part of the Cuban delegation of four athletes who will represent the country at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo 2026, scheduled from July 24 to August 8.
García Fernández explained that those are the available spots for Cuba: "These are the spots that were granted to us according to the technical manual of the games, two for each gender, since swimming was unable to attend any qualifying events for either pool or open water."
Cuba has consistently taken advantage of the World Aquatics scholarship program since 2021. The first to benefit was Luis Vega, a butterfly specialist, who trained at the center in Kazan, Russia, and achieved a national record in the 200 meters.
Then, Lorena González passed through that same center and lowered the Cuban record in the 50 meters in a short course pool.
The best Cuban swimmer in recent years, Elisbet Gámez, entered the center in Thailand in 2022 and trained in the facility in France in 2023, where she set national records in short course in the 50, 100, and 200 meters.
Gámez, who temporarily stepped away from the swimming pools in 2024 due to changes in Olympic qualification rules, plans to return for the Santo Domingo Games.
Currently, Andrea Becali is training at the World Aquatics center in Australia, where she arrived at the end of 2024. This month, she set a new national record in the 50 meters freestyle with 25.87 seconds, becoming the first Cuban to break the 26 seconds barrier.
Becali surpassed the previous record of 26.00 seconds set by Gámez in March 2023, and will compete in Santo Domingo in the 50, 100, 200, and 400 meters freestyle events.
The Cuban delegation in swimming for Santo Domingo includes Yadiel Estrada, competing in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle, and Laurent Estrada, participating in backstroke (50, 100, and 200 meters) and 200 individual medley. Laurent, who was part of the winning relays at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador 2023, also hopes to be called up to an international center of World Aquatics.
Meanwhile, Rodolfo Falcón Jr., a member of the national pre-selection, had an excellent performance in the 2026 Intercollegiate Athletic League of Puerto Rico: he won the 1,500 meters with a time of 16:15.61 and the 400 meters with a time of 4:02.95. He also earned a silver medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay and a bronze in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:57.22.
The Santo Domingo 2026 Games will also serve as a qualifier for the Pan American Games in Lima 2027, which enhances the significance of this cycle for Cuban swimming.
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