Diorges Escobar

Havana, February 14 (JIT) - Cuban Diorges Escobar will compete this weekend at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Cairo 2024, the first stop in his quest to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games.

The all-around champion at the Central American and Caribbean Games of San Salvador 2023 left with a suitcase full of dreams and a very clear idea: to place in the top three of his best apparatuses to score points in the ranking.

Escobar will only compete on parallel bars, fixed beam and free hands.

"The preparation has been intense in the last few weeks. We have done competitive modeling and tried to create an environment as close as possible to what we will face in Cairo," coach Esequiel Varela told JIT.

"He is fully recovered from an injury and psychologically he is in good shape. He looks encouraged and focused on the goal we have set," said the strategist, confident in the effectiveness of the medical treatment his student underwent after the fall suffered at the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023.

As planned, Diorges will also compete in the World Cup in Cottbus, Germany, from February 22 to 25, and in Doha, Qatar, from April 17 to 20.

For Cairo 2024, 287 gymnasts have confirmed, 37 of them from Latin American countries.