Cuba will raise its flag in Rio today

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Aug 2 (acn) Cuban flag will fly today in the Olympic Village, where a large part of the Cuban delegation, led by Mijail Lopez, flag bearer for the third consecutive time in this kind of events, is already staying.

Lopez, double Olympic and five times world champion in the 130 kg of Greco-Roman style, will be accompanied in the ceremony by his teammates and those of the freestyle category as well as by representatives of boxing, judo, taekwondo, gymnastics and athletics.

The ceremony will also be attended by athletes of artistic gymnastics, rowing, table tennis, shooting, archery, swimming, indoor and beach volleyball, fencing, coaches and federative representatives, among others, with the slogan Committed to our history.

Cuba will compete in the carioca contest, from August 5 to 21, with 120 athletes -89 men and 31 women, distributed in 18 sports, with an average age of 25 years and only 37 of them have had previous experience in Olympic competitions.

The sports with Cuban presence are athletics, boxing, judo, taekwondo, wrestling, gymnastics, cycling, canoeing, rowing, badminton, shooting, weightlifting, fencing, pentathlon, archery, indoor and beach volleyball and table tennis.

Experts say that the main possibilities of the Cuban delegation of winning medals are in combat sports and athletics, in addition to rowing, gymnastics and canoeing.

In London 2012, the athletes from the Caribbean island were 110, who competed in 14 sports, and they finished 16th in the standings with five gold, three silver and six bronze medals.

Sport executives believe that the goal of the Cuban delegation will be tough, but they also assert that there is confidence in the preparation made, the potential of athletes and efficiency that they can achieve in the event.

Cubans´ main challenges lie in effectiveness in the discussion of gold medals and the number of events to be held as they will only participate in 189 events of 18 sports from the 306 and 28 convened.

The organizers are expecting 10 500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees, headed by the leaders of four years ago: United States (46-29-29), followed by China (38-27-23) and Great Britain (29-17-19).