World long jump world champion Juan Miguel Echevarría thrilled with a single jump
Tokyo, July 31 (RHC)-- World long jump world champion Juan Miguel Echevarría thrilled with a single jump and showed that he is in top form for Tokyo-2020, while boxing achieved two successes and raised its consecutive victories to ten, to lead Cuba's performance on Saturday at the Olympic Games.
Echevarría, indoor champion in Birmingham-2018 and bronze medalist in the outdoor world championships in Doha-2019, advanced to the final with the best jump among all competitors (8.50 m), in his first and only attempt.
With that he climbed to second place in the world list behind Greece's Tentoglou (8.60), on Saturday second in the standings with 8.22.
Speaking to Cuban radio at Tokyo's majestic Olympic Stadium, the notable Cuban jumper said he expected a jump of about 8.20 m to qualify, but felt a very good sensation on the track.
...
Boxing maintained its victorious pace, with wins by world champions Yosvany Veitía and Andy Cruz.
Veitía (52 kg) beat Ghana's Sulemanu 5-0, while Andy left a great rival, Luke McCormack, from Great Britain, in the same way, to raise to 10 consecutive victories the harvest of the so-called "locomotive" of Cuban sport.
Returning to athletics, world discus champion Yaime Perez also advanced to the medal competition, on August 2, with a throw of 63.18 m, but world champion Denia Caballero could not stand out this time, with only 57.96.
...
Cuban Maykel Massó (8.07) also qualified for the long jump final, while young Lester Lescay finished with 7.69 and could not advance.
In the 400 hurdles, Zurian Hechavarría broke the 55-second barrier and with a lifetime best (54.99 sec) qualified for the semifinals, while Rose Mary Almanza did not have a strong finish and crossed the finish line fourth in her semifinal heat, to be out of the fight for the medals.
The beach volleyball duo of Leila Martinez and Lidiannis Echevarria achieved their second victory and will be in the round of 16, after defeating the Dutch pair 2-0.
Olfides Sáez, the only male representative in the weightlifting, dominated group B in the 96 kg, with lifts of 156 kg in the snatch and 203 kg in the deadlift, for a biathlon of 359, which gave him the ninth place.
In the 3x40 rifle shooting and modality, Eglys de la Cruz had a good competition in knee and prone, but declined a lot in the standing position and finished in 23rd place among 37 shooters.
This Sunday's Cuban performance will be marked by the presence of three-time Olympic champion Mijaín López, who will make his debut in search of the feat of becoming a four-time champion under the five rings.
Other stars performing will be the Olympic fast pistol champion Leuris Pupo, and boxing champions Roniel Iglesias, Lázaro Alvarez and Arlen López, while triple jumper Liadagmis Povea will be in the triple jump final.
Special thanks to Radio Havana Cuba's Raúl Rodríguez -- reporting from Tokyo, Japan -- for his news story in Spanish. ¡Gracias Raulito! Good job!!
