Havana, March 25 (RHC)-- The Cuban Greco-Roman wrestling team, led by star Mijaín López, began a training camp on Monday in the resort of Varadero, with an eye on Paris-2024.

In addition to the four-time Olympic and five-time 130 kg world champion, "the group of 16 gladiators includes all the top figures of Greco-Roman wrestling and their training partners, including Olympic qualifiers," head trainer Raul Trujillo told Radio Habana Cuba.

He specified that in this first part of the base - lasting about a month - the only absences are those of Tokyo-2020 Olympic champion Luis Orta (67 kg) and Pan American titleholder Daniel Gregorich (87), who are training in Europe under the guidance of Mario Olivera.

Gregorich is the only member of the team who has not yet qualified for Paris, a condition already held by Kevin de Armas (60), Orta (67), Yosvany Peña (77), Gabriel Rosillo (97) and Mijaín, who will seek his fifth consecutive crown in Paris after Oscar Pino qualified him with his world medal.

Orta and Gregorich will return to Cuba on the 29th and will join the training camp in Varadero, some 150 km east of Havana, hours later.

Several nations are expected to travel to the island to join the base and meet the Cubans, although, according to Trujillo, so far the only one that has arrived is Chile, led by its Olympic qualifiers Yasmani Acosta (130 kg and Mijaín's rival) and Néstor Almanza jr, son of the world champion of the same name.

Trujillo stressed that in Varadero "all the conditions" have been created for a "good preparation" and said that the team's critical route to Paris will continue with other stays in Croatia, Bulgaria and Hungary, the latter country where it is expected to participate in a top-level tournament.

Greco-Cuban wrestling has become the new spark plug of Cuban sport, with notable contributions to the island's medals in Olympic, Pan American and Central American games, as well as in world championships.