Cuban fencers will look for ticket to Rio in Costa Rica

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 13 (acn) With the goal of earning at least a ticket for the 2016 Summer Olympics, six Cuban fencers travelled to San Jose, Costa Rica, home of the continental qualifying tournament.

That contest, scheduled from April 15 to 17, will be crucial in the aspirations of Cuba to be represented in that sport in the Olympics, as its last presence in summer events dates back to Beijing 2008 through foil fencer Misleidis Compañy and saber fencer Maylin Gonzalez.
Cuba will attend the Olympic Qualifying Tournament of the Americas with Yamirka Rodriguez and Ringo Quintero in epee, Darling Robert and Yoandri Iriarte in saber, and Elizabeth Hidalgo and Riuben Jay in foil, according to the digital edition of Juventud Rebelde newspaper.
On Costa Rican soil, the women's foil and men's saber events will grant two tickets to the Olympics; while in the other events only the champions will earn the berths.
Epee fencer Rodriguez, 53rd in the universal ranking (sixth in the Americas) with 35.5 points, appears as the Cuban athlete with greater options to achieve the desired ticket.
In the case of Yamirka, she has attended several World Cups with the aim of being among the first two of the regional ranking and reaching qualification to Rio de Janeiro through direct way, and although she did not succeed it, she will go to San Jose with much more experience.
Returning to the Olympic stage, although it seems complicated, would be a step forward for the Caribbean nation which used to be a world power in fencing.
Epee fencer Ivan Trebejo, silver medalist at Atlanta 1996, and the men's epee team, third in Sydney 2000, were the last Cuban medalists in that sport at that level.