The Cuban triple jumper Davisleydi Velazco will return to compete under the national flag at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, scheduled for September 11 to 13, marking the end of three years in which she participated independently on the international circuit after leaving the Island in October 2023.
According to the state media Cubadebate, the national athletics commissioner, Rolando Charró, confirmed that Velazco's reaffiliation with the Cuban Athletics Federation will become effective precisely at this tournament, the inaugural edition of this new biennial event created by World Athletics.
The reintegration was made possible after a request submitted by the athlete herself and the discussions held with her coach, the Cuban Ubaldo Duany, once the procedures established by the federation were completed.
Velazco, born in Camagüey 27 years ago, had settled in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she continued her training alongside Duany. Although she competed without representing any national federation, World Athletics kept her profile low in Cuba during that period.
The return comes at the best moment of her career. At the Diamond League in Doha on June 19, the athlete achieved 15.13 meters —on her fifth attempt— breaking the 15-meter barrier for the first time and setting the season's best world record at that moment.
Weeks earlier, on June 10, she had already won the triple jump event at the Diamond League in Oslo with 14.85 meters, in a season that has propelled her among the leading global figures in the discipline.
In 2025, competing independently, she had also achieved podium finishes in the Diamond League: second place in Brussels with 14.72 meters and third place in the Zurich Final with 14.65 meters.
With her addition, Cuba will present an elite trio in women's triple jump in Budapest: the world champion Leyanis Pérez —gold medalist at the Tokyo 2025 Outdoor World Championships and the Toruń 2026 Indoor World Championships—, Liadagmis Povea —silver medalist at the Nanjing 2025 Indoor World Championships— and Velazco herself.
The case has a recent precedent: the long jumper Juan Miguel Echevarría, Olympic silver medalist, returned to the Cuban team in April 2024 under the same reintegration policy of the federation, which allows emigrated athletes to rejoin by making their own request.
Velazco has expressed his intention to continue representing Cuba in the major international commitments over the coming years, including those scheduled for 2027 and the upcoming World Athletics Championships. The women's triple jump in Budapest is set for Sunday, September 13.
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