Cuba's representation in the 6th Pan American Deaf Games

Havana, Nov 12 (JIT) - The gold medal won by world multi-medalist Suslaydi Girat was the most outstanding performance of the Cuban delegation at the beginning of the VI Pan American Deaf Games of Canoas 2024, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The emblematic athlete of the National Association of the Deaf of Cuba (Ansoc) won this time in the 100 meters, a specialty that together with the 200 meters and the long jumphas brought her the greatest achievements in her career, including world records.

She will also compete in these events on Brazilian soil, as confirmed to JIT by Douglas Andux, the methodologist of Inder's sports department for people with disabilities.

Other Cubans saw action in the athletics event, among them Héctor Daniel Pérez, winner of the bronze medal in the shot put with a record of 13.53 meters. 

In the men's hectometer, Eriel Cabrera and Cristian Rafael Ramos finished fifth and seventh, in that order, while Jaciel Bell and Yulieski Duarte reserved their places in the 400 meters final, scheduled for next Wednesday.

Cuba's presence in the opening of the competition was extended to table tennis and the harvest of prizes took place in the men's, women's, and mixed doubles.

The pair formed by Yunisleidys Ortiz and Dianka Montero lost in the final to their Brazilian counterpart with a score of 0-3 sets, in what ended up being the most relevant performance of the day. 

Equally outstanding was the performance of the men's duo formed by Yeandris Alcolea and Alexander Lobaina, bronze medalists after finishing second in their group with a balance of two wins and one loss. Their route to the title was cut short by the setback in the semifinals against the representatives of Colombia, in a duel that ended in four sets.

In the mixed doubles, Dianka -with experience in deaflympics- shared the limelight with Alcolea to take third place, after losing in the semifinals to the Colombian pair.

In the taekwondo program, the day was dedicated to weigh-in and audiometry tests, while karate and chess had their respective technical meetings.

The Pan American Deaf Games were first held in 1975 with Caracas as the host city. However, it was not until 1999 that Havana hosted its second edition and since then the frequency has varied. Buenos Aires served as the venue for the next version in 2003, followed by Valencia 2007, and Praia Grande 2012.