Cuban judokas intensify preparation for Grand Paris Slam 2026

HAVANA, Cuba, January 9 (ACN) While awaiting approval of the 2026 critical path, Cuban judokas are intensifying their training to participate in the Paris Grand Slam, a tournament that awards points for the world ranking (WR) in preparation for the Olympic cycle culminating in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Andrés Taño González, the national commissioner, informed the Cuban News Agency that eight athletes—five men and three women—have been selected by the men's and women's technical teams.

They could compete on January 7 and 8 in the Parisian event, which already has 381 registered representatives, including those from Cuba, from 58 countries.

At the judo headquarters, located at the Cerro Pelado High-Performance Athlete Training Center in Havana, Jonathan Charón (60 kg) and Orlando Polaco (66 kg) are finalizing their preparations.

Marlon Herrera (73 kg), Iván Felipe Silva (100 kg), Andy Granda (+100 kg), Maylín del Toro (63 kg), Lianet Cardona (78 kg), and Dayanara Curbelo (+78 kg).

All are primarily focused on the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo 2026, the Pan American Games in Lima 2027, and the Los Angeles 2028 Games, aware that qualification is based on rankings. Granda, who finished fifth – in contention for bronze – at the Games in Los Angeles and was the world champion in Tashkent 2022, ended 2025 ranked 11th in the world rankings, a position that leads the highest-ranked Cuban athletes in the senior category, with 3,021 points.

Maylín (21, 20, 62, 63 kg) stands out among the women.

According to the latest world rankings update on the International Judo Federation website, www.ijf.org, Among the men, Silva (18-2066-100 kg), who debuted in 2025 in his new weight class (formerly 90 kg), is followed by Jonathan Charón (18-2185-60 kg) and Orlando Polanco (35-1334-66 kg).

Among the women, Lianet Cardona (41-935-78 kg) follows Maylín. It's worth noting that Paralympian Silva, the 2018 Baku World Championship silver medalist, is returning to competition after suffering an injury at the Pan American and Oceania Games in Chile in April 2025.

Previously, in his new weight class, he had won two bronze medals at the Paris and Tashkent Grand Slams and the title at the Austrian Grand Prix. Dayanara (8-380-+78 kg) also stands out, but in the junior ranking.