The Cuban gymnast Manrique Larduet successfully defended his title this Sunday at the 2026 Italian Absolute Championships, becoming the absolute champion of Italy for the second consecutive time, solidifying his dominance in the artistic gymnastics of the European country.
The final of the men's all-around competition took place at the Palameda de Meda, where Larduet accumulated 82.900 points to clearly outperform his rivals and surpass the score of 81.250 points with which he had won the same title in 2025.
The podium was identical to the previous edition: Yumin Abbadini took the silver medal with a total of 80.400 points, while Simone Speranza secured third place with 80.100 points, in a tightly contested battle for the second position.
Larduet competes in Italy under the colors of the Gymnastics Romagna Team, a club with which he has established an unprecedented dominance in the Italian national circuit since his arrival in the country in 2022.
The Cuban, born in Santiago de Cuba in July 1996, arrived in Italy after breaking away from the Cuban sports system of INDER in February 2021, partly as a result of the expulsion of his coach Carlos Rafael Gil from the organization.
INDER publicly argued that Larduet did not have the necessary physical condition for the Tokyo Olympic Games; he refuted this and confirmed that his resignation was voluntary and made prior to those statements.
In July 2022, Larduet resumed his sports career in Italy, initially joining the club Palestra As Gin-Ssd Gimnástica Civitavecchia before moving to the Gymnastics Romagna Team.
His previous achievements include a silver medal in the all-around competition at the 2015 World Championship in Glasgow and participation in the Rio 2016 Olympics, where he reached the finals.
At the 2025 Italian Championships held in Quartu Sant'Elena, Larduet not only won the overall title but also secured gold medals in rings and parallel bars, along with a bronze in the horizontal bar, showcasing a versatility that he maintains in 2026.
The Absolute Italian Championships in Meda are also the final test before the European Championships in Zagreb, which gives this competition special significance in the season's calendar.
With the full title of the contest now in hand, attention now turns to the apparatus finals, for both men and women, which will conclude the 2026 Italian Championships in Meda, where Larduet will aim to add more gold medals to his collection.
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