Havana, December 13 (JIT) - Cuban canoeist Yarisleidis Cirilo was selected as the best female athlete of 2023 by the AIPS, American Sports Press Association.

For the election, the jury took into account the excellent year of the Guantanamera, who won the gold medal at the world championship in Duisburg, Germany, in the 200m C-1, the first individual gold medal in the history of a Cuban canoeist.

Cirilo also won in the German event the tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the single canoe at 200 meters and in the two-seater at 500 meters together with her new boat partner, 17-year-old Yinnoly Francheska López.

The 21-year-old Cirilo also won titles at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador and the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023.        

According to the official AIPS website, the best male athlete award went to Venezuelan baseball player Ronald Acuña, while the Mexican women's soccer team and the press room of the Chilean capital's multi-sports venue also won awards.