Cuba to award today its best athletes for 2023

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 26 (ACN) Canoeist Yarisleidis Cirilo and Greco-Roman wrestler Luis Orta will be awarded today, in Havana, as Cuba's best athletes in 2023, at a gala to be held at the Ciudad Deportiva coliseum.

That event will gather Cuban sports stars, among them Orta and Cirilo, gold medalists in the World Championships in wrestling and canoeing, respectively, as well as winners of the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile and other high-level tournaments.

Softball player Yilian Tornes and beach volleyball player Jorge Luis Alayo will also be recognized, but in collective disciplines.

Among the honorees will also be the 10 most outstanding athletes of this year, a list made up of Julio Cesar La Cruz (boxing), judoists Andy Granda and Idalys Ortiz (judo), Leyanis Perez and Lazaro Martinez (athletics), Oscar Pino and Gabriel Rosillo (wrestling), Leuris Pupo (shooting), Arlenis Sierra (cycling) and Jose Ramon Pelier (canoeing).

The gala will recognize wrestling and beach volleyball as the best individual and collective sport, in that order, and in a non-individual event, the mixed double table tennis team made up by Jorge Campos and Daniela Fonseca will receive praise.

During the celebration there will be space to award the best Cuban athlete under contract abroad, a distinction deserved by the baseball player Raidel Martinez; as well as the best community projects: Venga la Esperanza and Wushu Barrio Chino de La Habana.

Likewise, Dirtho M. Fernandez Cabrera (volleyball) and Luis E. Charadan Pierre (badminton) will be recognized as the best national and international referees, respectively, as well as Lemay Gutierrez (underwater) and Johen Lefont (ball control), as the most outstanding in special activities.

The ceremony will also honor the performance of athletes with disabilities, with a special mention for Robiel Yankiel Sol, the most outstanding with his world record in the long jump, along with Omara Durand, the most outstanding among the ladies, and Ulicer Aguilera for the men, all three in parathletics.

Other awardees will be the 10 best parathletes: Sheyla Hernandez (judo), Yuset Montejo (wrestling), Yenigladys Suarez (shooting), Yunier Fernandez (table tennis), Yordani Fernandez (judo), Daniel Milanés (athletics), Ever Rene Castro (athletics), Guillermo Varona (athletics), Di Angelo Lóriga (shooting) and Michel Ernesto Suarez (taekwondo). Mention: Manuel Alejandro del Rosario (badminton).

Mention will also be given to all the gold medal winners at the Central Caribbean Games in San Salvador and the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile, along with the world medalists in these 12 months of hard competitive activity and the baseball team, 4th place at the 5th World Baseball Classic.