Cuba at the Central American and Caribbean Games (XIX)

With a record 32 nations participating, the XVIII Central American and Caribbean Games were held in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela, from August 8 to 22, 1998, a little more than four years after the last edition of the event, in the Puerto Rican city of Ponce.

The second largest number of competitors ever registered (4,115) took part in the Venezuelan multisport event, only surpassed by the Mexico City 1990 version, with 4,206 athletes, according to the book Los Juegos Regionales Más Antiguos (The Oldest Regional Games), by the late chronicler Enrique Montesinos.

Venezuela hosted the event for the second time, almost four decades after the 1959 Caracas Games; on this occasion, the capital hosted some disciplines and Guatemala hosted the rowing competitions.

Cuba reached the top of the standings for the eighth time in a row, followed by Mexico, its main rival since the beginning of this event in 1926.

Although Cuba did not manage to surpass 200 gold medals, as it did in Ponce 1993, it won 191 crowns, 76 silvers and 68 bronzes, ahead of the Mexicans (60-87-67) and the hosts (56-68-67).

Likewise, it remained at the top of several collective and individual disciplines.

Among the disciplines with the greatest contribution were athletics (19-14-11), boxing (11-0-0), fencing (10-0-4), artistic gymnastics (10-8-7), judo (14-0-0), weightlifting (18-6-0), wrestling (8-0-0), Greco-Roman wrestling (8-0-0), karate (7-1-4), swimming (9-8-4), swimming (9-1-4) and gymnastics (9-8-4), wrestling (8-0-0-0) and Greco-Roman (8-0-0-0), karate (7-1-4), swimming (9-8-4), rowing (11-6-1), table tennis (7-1-3), shooting (21-7-7) and archery (21-7-7-7).

In men's water polo and volleyball (nine), women's basketball (eight) and women's volleyball (seven), the Cubans maintained their good rhythm of consecutive victories, as well as in men's field field hockey (five).

Shooter Hermes Rodriguez recorded a remarkable performance and finished the Games with 19 titles and three silver medals since his debut in 1986, at the Dominican Games in Santiago de los Caballeros.
In addition, he accumulated two records - imposed in Mexico City 1990 - in the individual three-position rifle and team rifle modalities, with 1,243.8 and 3,411 points, in that order.

His teammates Idilvis Sanchez (five golds), Eglis Cruz (three) and Leuris Pupo, who started his performance in style by winning three crowns and taking part in the record set in the rapid fire pistol (1752 points); while the air pistol team also reached another record with 1,713 units.

Other achievements in the city of Morelos were made by high jumper Javier Sotomayor (2.37 meters), long jumper Ivan Pedroso (8.45 m), decathlonist Raul Duanny (8,118 points) and the 4x400 meters quartet (3:29.65 minutes).

Similarly, weightlifters Pablo Lara, with 350 kilograms in the biathlon, 160 in the snatch and 190 in the rebound, and Ernesto Agüero, absolute owner of the 220 in the rebound.

Rodolfo Falcon - a Cuban Olympic Games medalist - stopped the swimming clock at 55.60 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke.

Also outstanding in these Centrocaribes were gymnasts Erick Lopez (artistic), with five golds, one silver and two bronzes; and Yordania Corrales (rhythmic), who climbed four times to the top of the podium.

Archers Juan Carlos Stevens (five gold medals and two second places), Milena Ferro (5-0-2) and Jacqueline Fernandez (4-2-0) also shone, while fencer Elvys Gregory finished his presence in three editions in a masterful way, as he won a total of six titles, a result only similar to that of his fellow countryman Ramon Font.

Tennis players Francisco Arado, Madeleine Armas and Maricel Ramírez wore gold in Maracaibo, with four crowns for the former and three for the latter.