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, ending a three-year period during which she competed independently on the international circuit after leaving Cuba in October 2023.
According to the official media outlet Cubadebate, the national athletics commissioner, Rolando Charró, confirmed that Velazco's reaffiliation with the Cuban Athletics Federation will take place precisely at that 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 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 regarding Cuba during that time.
The return comes at the perfect time in 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 best world record of the season at that moment.
Days 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 secured podium finishes in the Diamond League: second in Brussels with 14.72 meters and third in the Zurich Final with 14.65 meters.
With her inclusion, Cuba will present an elite trio in the women's triple jump in Budapest: world champion Leyanis Pérez —gold medalist at the Tokyo 2025 World Outdoor Championships and at the Toruń 2026 indoor World Championships—, Liadagmis Povea —world silver medalist indoor in Nanjing 2025— 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 their own request.
Velazco has expressed his intention to continue representing Cuba in the major international commitments of the coming years, including those scheduled for 2027 and the upcoming World Athletics Championship. The women's triple jump in Budapest is set for Sunday, September 13.
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