Reidy Cardona and Leduar Suárez delivered to Cuba its fifth gold medal at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games by winning the men's double scull event this Sunday at the rowing course in Bonao, located in the geographical center of the Dominican Republic.
According to the state sports media JIT in its coverage of Santo Domingo 2026, the Cuban duo controlled the 2,000 meters from start to finish and pulled ahead of the Mexican boat after surpassing the halfway point, with the latter unable to regain ground.
Cuba crossed the finish line with a time of 6:32.80 minutes. Mexico took silver with 6:37.39, while Venezuela rounded out the podium with bronze at 6:39.62.
"We thank everyone who made this medal possible, and I am very happy with this result, because despite the difficulties, we achieved the goal," Cardona stated at the end of the race.
His boat partner also had words of appreciation: "We want to thank everyone for the support we've received and all those who have been working with us to make this moment possible," stated Suárez near the finish line.
Cardona is considered the best rower in Cuba today. At the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, he won silver in double sculls, gold in the coxed eight, and bronze in the coxed mixed eight. He also competed in his first Olympic Games in the single scull event in Paris 2024.
The events of this Sunday also brought another joy for the Cuban delegation in the water: Raima Ortiz and Loraidis Echavarría won the silver medal in the women's double scull event.
Rowing is thus establishing itself as one of the most productive disciplines for Cuba at the start of these Games. On Saturday, Ana Jiménez and Leah Almeida opened the Cuban rowing medal count in Bonao with a bronze in the women's lightweight double scull.
This performance adds to a strong start for Cuba in Santo Domingo 2026, where the delegation of 504 athletes in 42 disciplines aims to rank among the top three in the medal tally with at least 67 gold medals, a figure close to the 74 earned in San Salvador 2023.
The first gold medal for Cuba in these games was won on Saturday by cyclist Marlies Mejías in the women's time trial over 30 kilometers, with a time of 40:15.79.
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