Lazaro Martinez, cadet world champion and junior Panamerican champion in 2013, still has a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Havana, July 21 (RHC) - Three Cubans are competing this Thursday at the world track and field championships in Eugene in qualifying events: world indoor champion Lázaro Martínez, and young Andy Hechavarría, in the triple jump, and Olympic semifinalist Rose Mary Almanza in the 800m.
With his title in the indoor world championships with an excellent mark of 17.64m, Lazaro is considered one of the candidates for the title together with Pedro Pablo Pichardo, also a Cuban nationalized in Portugal, and should not have difficulties to surpass the 17.14m required for the qualification.
In the outdoor season, the Cuban has registered 17.30m, a mark that gives him the fourth place in the world ranking, led by the also Cubans Jordan Diaz (17.87) and Andy Diaz (17.68), who will not compete in the world championship after leaving the island and settling in other nationals.
Pichardo (17.49 in the season) won the Olympic gold in Tokyo, but was surpassed by Lázaro in the world indoors.
Hechavarría, meanwhile, has a lifetime best of 17.09m achieved in February in Havana, so he will have to reach his best to be in the fight for the medals.
Almanza, meanwhile, has not had great results as in 2021 (1.58.60 min), but his coach, Nelson Gutierrez, has said that his preparation was aimed at the world championship.
Wednesday's was not a happy day for Cuba, as Yaime Perez, Doha-2019 monarch, was far from the podium with seventh place (63.07 m) and Roxana Gomez could not qualify for the 400 meters final by being fourth in her semifinal heat with (51.12).
The Doha 2019 champion could not improve her qualifying record and was out of the podium, in an event surprisingly won by China's Bin Feng (69.12), followed by the historic Sandra Perkovic (68.45) and the champion of Tokyo -2020, the American Valery Allman (68.30).
The highlight of the world championships will be on the track, with the 200m finals for both sexes.
