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Cuban athletes Yarisleidis Cirilo and Yinnoly Francheska López advanced this Friday to the semifinals of the C2-500 meters at the World Cup in Szeged, Hungary, the first stop of the international sprint canoeing circuit for the 2026 season.
The duo recorded a time of 2:00.54 minutes in their qualifying heat, a result that allowed them to advance to the next round of the Hungarian tournament.
The heat was dominated by the Ukrainians Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Rybachok, who achieved the best time of the day with 1:55.99 minutes and secured direct qualification to the final.
In total, eight boats managed to complete the course in under two minutes and 20 seconds, in a competitive field that included more than 20 vessels from various federations, featuring strong teams from countries like China, Canada, and Hungary.
Ukrainians Luzan and Rybachok are silver medalists in this same event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the women's C2-500 meters officially debuted in the Olympic program.
Cirilo and López also took part in that final A in Paris 2024, which positions them as serious contenders in the new cycle leading to Los Angeles 2028.
The Guantanamera Cirilo boasts an impressive record: Olympic bronze in C1-200 meters at Paris 2024, world gold in C1-200 meters at Duisburg 2023, and gold at the U23 World Championship in Portugal in July 2025.
Alongside López, the couple was chosen among the best athletes in Cuba in 2024 in the non-individual events category.
The two canoers arrived in Szeged after a training camp in Guatapé, Colombia, and Poland, under the guidance of coach Nelson Perales and physiotherapist Lázaro Pérez.
On Friday afternoon, both will return to the water to compete in the C2-200 meters as well, which presents a double challenge on the opening day.
The Szeged World Cup runs until Sunday and operates under the new qualifying system of the International Canoe Federation for Los Angeles 2028, which awards points by national Olympic committee—not by individual athlete—in each event of the international calendar.
Under this scheme, each nation can accumulate up to eight results from eight different competitions, with a maximum of six from the same continent, which makes each World Cup a strategic opportunity from the start of the cycle.
The next stop on the circuit is scheduled to be in Brandenburg, Germany, from May 14 to 17, where Cuba will have another opportunity to earn points in the race towards Los Angeles 2028.
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