Leydis Veranes

San Salvador, July 4 (JIT) - Leidis Veranes kept the Central Caribbean sabre crown in her hands. She did it exhausted, on the verge of "fainting", after nine rounds and the pressure that always accompanies her in important competitions. 

She arrived at the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games with the desire to reign, but after a campaign of few competitions. Then she brought out the experience, courage and faith that always accompanies her. 

She won five rounds in the group stage and then dismissed all her rivals. In the round of 16-5, she beat Odalis Maldonado from El Salvador; in the quarterfinals, Natalia Botello from Mexico (15-4); in the semifinals, María Blanco from Colombia (15-10) and in the final, Jessica Morales from Colombia (15-11). 

A cry of satisfaction and liberation was heard afterwards in the gymnasium of the University of El Salvador, where teammates and other members of the delegation applauded her performance. 

"Everything was very intense, but the result came out. This means a lot, one realizes that it was worth the effort despite the difficulties. For that I am very grateful and happy. I have gone through a lot of work, but this gives me the strength to go on," expressed the champion, who had words of praise for her husband and family in general. 

"My coaches and teammates have been unconditional towards me. They are part of this result," she added before commenting on the final fight in which she lost a notable advantage in the last moments: "I was very tired and that's why it stuck to me. I didn't have the strength to avoid the touches, but I had some time to catch my breath and pull out the victory". 

Another Cuban was also awarded in sabre: Narianna Portuondo. She achieved a 4-1 balance in the preliminary stage; she defeated Dominican Heyddys Ysabel (15-14) in the round of 16 and Rossy Felix (15-14) in the round of eight, but in the semifinals she was unable to defeat Morales, the eventual runner-up. 

The other weapon in action today was the men's foil. Cuba's Camilo Bory did not advance beyond the group stage, where he accumulated one victory and four failures. His compatriot Karol Rivero passed that phase with 4-1, triumphed in the round of 16 against Guatemala's José López (15-6) and lost in the quarterfinals to Venezuela's Antonio Leal. The champion of the event was Mexico's Diego Cervantes.

The women's epee bouts are scheduled for Tuesday, according to the competition's official website.