World champions in the 4x400 (Almanza, Zurian, Veitía and Roxana).
Havana, May 9 (RHC) - Some 20 of Cuba's top athletes, including 4x400 relay world champions Roxana Gómez, Rose Mary Almanza and Zurian Hechavarría, will compete in various athletic events in Europe, Asia, America and Africa during the rest of May.
According to the National Athletics Commission announced on Tuesday, in addition to the luxury trio of the women's long relay that won in Silesia-2021, the list includes the triple jumpers Liadagmis Povea and Leyanis Perez and the high jumper Luis Enrique Zayas.
Although many Cuban athletes successfully debuted outdoors outside the border in the recent ALBA Games, the competition in Venezuela is not recognized by World Athletics (WA), so their results do not add up to points for the world ranking.
Therefore, they will have to continue looking for their qualification to the World Championships in Budapest - August 19 to 27 - either by the minimum mark or the world ranking in upcoming competitions.
The first of the meetings abroad will be the New Life Invitational, on Saturday in Bahamas, where 12 Cubans will participate, among them Roxana, the reappeared Zurian (400m hurdles) and Yoandys Lescay (400 and 200m), and promising youngsters such as sprinters Yarima García and Reinaldo Espinosa, Aniel Molina (long jump) and Daily Cooper (800m).
Roxana, also an Olympic finalist in Tokyo-2020, achieved in the ALBA Games 50.73 seconds, but since that mark was not recognized by the WA, she holds as the best record of the season the 51.53 achieved in March in the Pan American Stadium in Havana, which still does not give her the ticket to Budapest-2023.
The best Cuban runner of the moment will have two competitions in May, the one in Bahamas and another one on May 28 in Forbach, Germany, in search of lowering the 51 seconds, the minimum mark required to be in the world championship.
After an outstanding winter season (indoor), two of the best placed in the ranking are the triple jumpers Leyanis Pérez (sixth in the ranking) and Liadagmis Povea (eighth) and both are registered in the Diamond League stop in Rabat (Morocco), on May 28, while two days before the outdoor debut of the Pan American champion of Lima-2019 and fifth world champion in Doha, Luis Enrique Zayas, in Jaen (Spain) will take place in Jaen (Spain).
On May 27 in Taipei of China will compete the young long jump talent Alejandro Parada, world U-20 runner-up in Cali-2022 and owner of a lifetime best mark of 8.15 last March.
The final rallies of the month for the Cubans are scheduled for Forbach (Germany) and Montreuil (Switzerland).
In addition to Roxana, Almanza (800m), Cristian Nápoles (triple jump) and Shainer Reginfo (100m) will compete in the German city, while in Switzerland Almanza and Reginfo will repeat and the discus runner Silinda Morales will make her debut.
