Havana, August 9 (RHC) – Cuba achieved fifth place in karate and weightlifting at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games, the largest number held to date in this Dominican capital.
The result can be considered positive for both disciplines, based on the performance of their respective delegations at the Dominican Games.
The karate team accumulated one gold medal, three silver medals, and one bronze, finishing second to the Dominican Republic, which topped the medal table with five golds, three silvers, and three bronzes; followed by Colombia (3-2-4), Venezuela (2-5-5), and Guatemala (2-1-0).
With this performance, the karate athletes from the largest island in the Caribbean surpassed their achievement three years ago in San Salvador, when they also finished fifth, but with only one gold and one bronze.
Individually, medals were won by Lousbel Velázquez, gold in the 67 kg division; Baurelys Torres (55 kg), silver; Juana Parra (+68 kg), silver; and the men’s kata team, silver. Meanwhile, Bárbara Lynn Cuevas won bronze in the 61 kg category.
The Cuban weightlifting delegation won two gold, three silver, and five bronze medals, a performance narrowly below their fourth-place finish in the Salvadoran capital, where they accumulated two gold, three silver, and six bronze medals.
The Cuban team was preceded in the medal standings in the Dominican Republic by Colombia, with 13 gold, two silver, and five bronze medals; Venezuela (11-8-3); Mexico (4-10-5); and the Dominican Republic (2-7-9).
The champions on the floor were Otto Oñate, in the 60 kg clean and jerk, and Marifélix SarrÃa, in the same event, in the over 86 kg category.
Oñate and Edisnel Corrales each won silver in the snatch in the 79 kg division, and Ludia Montero also won silver in the snatch in the 48 kg division.
Bronze medals went to Corrales and Montero in the clean and jerk, Yorelvis Machado in both the snatch and clean and jerk in the 94 kg division, and Lisney Adames in the clean and jerk in the 63 kg division.
