Cuba's Parathletics Kicks Off with Four Medals at Chile 2025

SANTIAGO DDE CHILE, Nov 4 (ACN) Cuban parathletes won one gold medal, two silver, and one bronze on the opening day of the sport at the VI Youth Parapan American Games of Chile, taking place at the Mario Recordón track in the National Stadium Park.

Havana's Daumey Elizalde Drake won the first gold for the Cuban delegation by dominating the 100-meter dash T46 class.

The one-two finish in the explosive race was completed by Villa Clara's Jairon Bouzá Guerra in an emotional final for the Cuba young athletes.

The champion said he trained hard for this moment, "We felt a bit of pressure, but nothing, always forward, we were confident and now very proud to give this medal to my Cuba, and we will seek, we will fight for more."

Bouzá also did not hide his joy, stating, "I am super happy with this medal because I showed that the training has worked, very happy indeed, and tomorrow I will go for another."

The silver medal, in fact the first for the delegation, was secured by Camagüey's Tairemy Navarro (T11-total blindness) alongside her guide Marcos Antonio Roldán, also in the 100 meters.

"We are very happy because it's the first [medal] in an international event and we dedicate it to our country, which always supports us. Also to the family, Tai doesn't talk much, but on the track she's a cyclone, and tomorrow we will fight for victory in the 200m," expressed the fifteen-year-old from Camagüey.

Pinar del Río's Osbiel Palacios secured the bronze medal in the 100 meters T46, which he described as his best performance and hopes to contribute more.

Yamina de la Caridad Martínez (F-46) could not compete as no opponents were present in the discus throw; however, she demonstrated her progression by making her throws and improving her personal best to 22.27 meters from the 21.91m with which she won this year's National School Games.

"I feel proud because I surpassed my record with a discus that in this U-17 category weighs one kilogram, that is, 25 grams more than in school. It encourages me to have confidence that I can fight for medals in shot put and javelin, so I hope to have opponents and climb the podium," said the fifteen-year-old from Pinar del Río.

In the women's 100 meters T47, Havana's María Rosa Albarrán finished in fourth place, "but I'm going to focus on the jump because I have set out to bring a medal to my Cuba," she said.

The competition will continue this Tuesday with sessions in the morning and late afternoon/evening.

Meanwhile, the Cuban parapowerlifting team concluded its training base in Santiago and moves tomorrow to the O'Higgins region, the venue for the competition on the 7th, 8th, and 9th.
The paratable tennis group returns to Havana today.