First Havana Triathlon is Presented in Spain

The First Triathlon of Havana and Ibero-American Championships, which will get underway next January 25th in Havana, was officially presented today in the Spanish capital as a unique initiative that links sports, culture and tourism.

The competition, with up to a thousand participants, is organized in collaboration with Cuba and Spain with the support of the International Triathlon Federation, the Ibero-American Association of Triathlon and the County of Huelva, among other institutions.

José Carrasco, organizer and director of Havana Triathlon, explained that this is a project of international cooperation and outreach to the Cuban experience of solidarity in sports and other humanitarian efforts as fighting Ebola.

“Cubans do not give their surpluses or leftovers, but really share what they have to help build a more fair world,” Carrasco said in a ceremony held at the National Sports Council in Madrid.

All of the city of Havana, he added, will be at the athletes' disposal to raise awareness of their home in a different way, one of the basic aspects of the initiative, which will make the competition a celebration of sports and international cooperation.

Meanwhile, the president of the Spanish Federation and the Ibero-American Triathlon Association, José Hidalgo, said that together with the competition, the Congress of the Ibero-American Federation of Triathlon will be held in Havana.

Among the uniqueness of the event are the link with the culture, as Cuban plastic artists will donate works to the highest ranked.

The competition will also cover events such as Long, and Middle Distances and Sprint including tours that will conclude at Havana's Revolution Square, while the swimming competitions will be held at the Marina Hemingway and cycling events in a circuit for various city streets.

In this regard, Marisol Casado, President of the International Triathlon Federation, pointed out that the project stands for another opportunity for expansion of triathlon in the world while showing how culture and sports may be linked.

The Cuban ambassador to Spain, Eugenio Martinez, said he was satisfied with the organization of the competition in Havana, a city that turns 495 years old and is home to a friendly people, which will be a special stage for an ever-growing sport.

Chess

Guantanamo's representative and FIDE Master (FM), Felix Fuentes, with ELO 2303, leads the Men's National Chess Championship, East Zone, which got underway yesterday and will end next Monday, November 10th in the city of Holguín.

In the first 2 rounds of the event, held at the Sports Museum of Holguín, Fuentes won his debut facing his counterpart and host Rider Díaz (2432), while in the 2nd appearance defeated his opponent and National Master (NM), Manuel Dario Ochoa (2262).

The event covers 11 chess players looking for 2 seats for the end of next year, in which the Holguín's GM, Isan Ortiz (2623), silver medal at the National Chess Olympiad this year and recently continental champion in Brazil, is the current national bi-monarch.