The Cuban delegation won four gold medals on the first day of finals of the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026, held this Saturday, with judo being the main highlight, contributing three of the four crowns.
The first gold medal came from cycling: Marlies Mejías won the women's 30 km individual time trial with a time of 40:15.79 and an average speed of 44.7 km/h, surpassing the Mexican Sara Roel and the Trinidadian Teniel Campbell.
With that victory, Mejías achieved her ninth gold medal in the history of the Central American and Caribbean Games and expressed her intention to continue competing for Cuba in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
"I am very happy to contribute the first gold medal to my country," said the cyclist to the digital newspaper JIT after crossing the finish line.
Judo took over with three consecutive titles: Jonathan Charón in the men's under 60 kg category, Orlando Polanco in under 66 kg, and Dali Sentmanat in the women's under 52 kg, all on the tatami in Santo Domingo.
Before the gold medals, Cuba had already begun its medal tally with several bronze awards.
The shirts Ana Jiménez and Leah Almeida were the first Cuban athletes to reach the podium in these games, securing third place in the lightweight women's double sculls event.
The men's recurve archery team, made up of Javier Alejandro Vega, Hugo Franco, and Iván Pérez, also secured bronze by defeating Guatemala.
Taekwondo contributed two additional medals thanks to the Santiago athletes Tania Indira Delgado and Danny Junior Valenciano: she earned a bronze in traditional individual poomsae, and he made his debut as a medalist at the regional event.
With four golds and four bronzes, Cuba wrapped up the first day of finals in third place in the overall medal standings, aligning with the official goal of finishing among the top three in Santo Domingo 2026 and achieving a total of between 67 and 68 golds.
The Cuban delegation, composed of 504 athletes registered in 42 disciplines, arrives at this edition with the background of having finished third in San Salvador 2023 with 74 gold medals.
The ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel reacted to the results through the social network X with a message that blended sports praise with the usual political speech of the regime: “Every medal tells a story of sacrifice. Seeing them there, on the podium, is moving because they not only surpassed the opponent at hand but also the tough circumstances they have chosen to confront to bring glory to the Homeland.”
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