Two Cuban weightlifters detached themselves from the national delegation in Tepic, Nayarit, without ever stepping onto the competition platform. According to an athlete from the team who revealed this to Cubalite.
Yeniuska Mirabal (77 kg, 29 years old, originally from Guantánamo) and Yorelvis Machado (88 kg, from Jiguaní, Granma, who will turn 22 in January) left the training camp before Wednesday, the day both were scheduled to compete in the second Pan American qualifying event for weightlifting leading up to the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima.
The tournament, held from October 4 to 8 in the Mexican city of Tepic, featured the participation of six Cuban weightlifters. The departure of Mirabal and Machado left the delegation with four members and deprived the country of two contenders with real chances of qualifying for Lima. Neither INDER nor the Cuban weightlifting federation has issued any statement regarding this matter.
Mirabal has an impressive record: two silver medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador 2023 and three titles at the Far East Cup, held in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, at the end of 2024.
Machado, for his part, arrived in Tepic fueled by the two bronze medals he won at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, held in August, where he competed in the 94 kg category with a total of 340 kg.
The four weightlifters who did compete in Tepic returned with positive results: Marifélix Sarría (+86 kg) won two golds and a bronze; Ludia Montero (53 kg) added two silvers and a bronze; Edisnel Corrales (79 kg) secured three bronzes; and Otto Oñate (65 kg) finished fourth. The official Cuban press reported on those medals without mentioning the absences of Mirabal and Machado, a silence that reflects a recurring pattern regarding athletes' departures abroad.
The episode adds to a series of departures that have marked Cuban sports throughout 2026. In July, three kayakers left the delegation during the Pan American Canoeing Championship in Montreal, Canada. That same summer, five athletes did not return from the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, including hockey goalie Moisés Torres and rower Leah Daniela Almeida. In May, two Cuban boxers left the delegation in Spain and later settled in Mexico.
Mexico is increasingly becoming a recurring exit point for Cuban athletes. In April 2025, wrestler Jaime Lobio Hernández also disassociated himself in Mexican territory.
Cuba will have one last opportunity to secure spots in weightlifting for Lima 2027: the third and final Pan American qualifying event is scheduled to take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from April 3 to 10, 2027.
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