The Cuban delegation maintains its third place this Wednesday in the medal table of the Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026, with 16 gold medals, 16 silver medals, and 20 bronze medals, for a total of 52 medals.
The classification criterion —number of gold medals, not total medals— is what keeps Cuba on that podium level compared to its closest competitors.
Venezuela ranks fourth with 12 golds, 20 silvers, and 35 bronzes, totaling 67 medals, 15 more than Cuba, but with four titles fewer.
The Dominican Republic, host of the event, ranks fifth with 10 golds, 11 silvers, and 31 bronzes, matching Cuba in total medals (52) but unable to surpass it in the rankings due to a six-gold difference.
At the top of the medal table, Mexico continues to dominate with authority: 57 golds, 47 silvers, and 34 bronzes (138 medals). Colombia is in second place with 34 golds, 33 silvers, and 23 bronzes (90 medals).
The Cuban harvest has been built with outstanding performances throughout the competition. Marlies Mejías opened the golden scoreboard on July 25 by winning the women's individual time trial in 40:15.79, with an average speed of 44.7 km/h.
On July 26, judo delivered three gold medals at once: Jonathan Charón (-60 kg), Orlando Polanco (-66 kg), and Dali Sentmanat (-52 kg) all climbed to the top of the podium on the same day.
On Monday, Reidy Cardona and Leduar Suárez triumphed in the men's double sculls rowing event in Bonao with a time of 6:32.80.
On Tuesday, it was a day for judo and badminton: Iván Silva (100 kg) and Andy Granda (+100 kg) added two more golds on the mat, while Taymara Oropesa claimed victory in women's singles badminton by defeating the Mexican Vanesa García with scores of 15-21, 22-20, and 21-15.
For Oropesa, the title was especially significant: she had been a runner-up in Barranquilla 2018 and San Salvador 2023, and Santo Domingo 2026 marks her first individual gold in these games, ending an eight-year wait.
Cuba arrived at this edition with 504 athletes in 42 disciplines, its largest recent delegation for the event, with the official goal of finishing in the top three and accumulating around 67 or 68 gold medals.
In the previous edition, San Salvador 2023, the delegation finished third with 74 golds, 59 silvers, and 63 bronzes, a result described as their worst performance in over four decades.
With several competition days still to be held, Cuba will seek to increase its gold medal count to establish itself among the top three delegations of the regional event.
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