Cuba concluded its participation in the men's wrestling tournament of the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 this Saturday, with two gold medals and three bronze medals, a result that reinforces the country’s position as one of the leading regional powers in this discipline.
The titles were secured by Geannis Garzón in the 74 kilograms category and Arturo Silot in the 97 kilograms category, both with dominant performances from start to finish.
Garzón did not yield a single point throughout the final day: he defeated the Salvadoran Kevin Alemán 11-0 in the quarterfinals, overcame the Dominican Julio Rodríguez 9-3 in the semifinals, and crowned himself champion with a 10-0 victory over the Venezuelan Ibsen Aguilar, a win also resolved by technical superiority.
The fighter dedicated the title to his family: "I feel very happy, finally Central American champion, the opportunity I was looking for. I talked to my dad in the morning and he told me it was my time, so I went out to give it my all and the result came."
Garzón also made her ambitions for the future clear: "Right now, what I want is to give birth to my daughter and then rejoin the team for the World Cup. I want to do everything at the World Cup and I want to go out and pursue my medals, which is what I've always dreamed of."
Silot, for his part, completed an undefeated journey: he crushed Colombian Carlos Izquierdo (12-3) and Venezuelan Cristian Sarco (13-3) in the group stage, defeated Jamaican Steven Burrell Jr. 10-0 in the semifinals, and repeated his victory over Izquierdo by technical superiority in the final to declare himself the undefeated champion.
The three bronze medals were awarded to Lázaro Hernández (86 kg), Yosenky Castañeda (125 kg), and Carlos Méndez (65 kg).
Hernández starred in one of the most remarkable comebacks of the tournament: the athlete had not competed for nearly three years and chose this Games as a reunion with high-level competition.
Although he lost in the semifinals 4-5 to the Dominican Christopher Foca, he recovered to defeat the Panamanian Ángel Cortés by fall in the battle for third place.
Castañeda advanced from the quarterfinals with a 6-0 victory over Jamaican Aaron Johnson, fell in the semifinals against Puerto Rican Jonovan Smith, and secured the bronze by defeating Costa Rican Maxwell Lacey 6-1.
Méndez, in his first Central American Games, debuted with a victory of 21-13 against the Panamanian Wilfredo López, lost in the semifinals to the Puerto Rican Joseph Joseph, and secured third place by technical superiority against the Salvadoran Raúl Paniagua.
"I don't feel satisfied with the result; I had planned to take the gold medal, but this was the outcome I could achieve. It was a nice experience," admitted the young fighter, whose father is also his main coach.
The only Cuban who did not reach the podium was Vladimir Vila (57 kg), eliminated in the group stage after losing to the Venezuelan Pedro Mejías and the Mexican Román Bravo.
Garzón and Silot arrive at these Games as Pan American champions in freestyle wrestling, a title they both claimed in May in Coralville, Iowa, making their gold medals in Santo Domingo a confirmation of their continental dominance.
Cuba participates in Santo Domingo 2026 with 504 athletes across 42 disciplines, its largest recent delegation at these games, and was in third place in the overall medal standings as of July 29 with 16 golds, 16 silvers, and 20 bronzes.
After the conclusion of the men's tournament, the wrestling competition continues this Saturday with the women's tournament, where the Cuban representatives will seek to maintain their dominance on the mats of Santo Domingo.
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