Yarisleidis Cirilo

Havana, October 9 (JIT) - Led by multi-champion Yarisleidis Cirilo, five Cuban canoeists and eight kayakers will compete for medals at the XIX Pan American Games in Santiago 2023, scheduled for Oct. 20 to Nov. 5. 

Of them, only three athletes, all kayakers, were in Lima 209: Camila Cuello, Yurieni Guerra and Robert Benitez.

"We are aware that we are taking a selection of young athletes, but several have proven themselves with good results in strong tournaments, that's why we trust them for a Games like those in Chile," Alejandro Hamze, president of the Cuban federation of this sport, told JIT.

"We have several examples of this, although it is enough to mention Cirilo, double world champion in the C1-200, and José Ramón Pelier, medalist in the C1," he expanded from Colombia, where the chosen ones do a training base.

"Cirilo was then 17 years old and Pelier we booked to attend the 2019 Pitesti Youth Canoe World Cup in Romania, where he won the gold metal," he abounded.

"We trust them as guides for the remaining ones to round off a good performance in Santiago 2023, especially in the canoe," he expressed.

Accompanying Cirilo and Pelier in the canoe will be Yisnoly Franchesca López, Javier Requeiro and Elvis Bárbaro Reyes.  

Yan Carlos Samé, Reyler David Patterson, Caleb Fábregat, Robert Benítez, Madelén Heredia, Daylen Rodríguez, Yurieni Guerra and Camila Cuello will be in the kayaks.

They will compete in sprint only at Laguna Grande San Pedro de la Paz from October 28 to November 4.

In Santiago 2023 there will also be a slalom competition in the Concagua River, in the commune of Los Andes.