High jumper Luis Enrique Zayas. Photo: Pavol Uhrin (Taken from JIT)

Havana, February 1 (JIT) - Cuba's Luis Enrique Zayas debuted in second place in the high jump at the Nehvizdy Stars 2023 international indoor track and field meet in the Czech Republic.

A jump over 2.22 meters was enough to be among the winners of the event dominated by the Belgian Thomas Carmoy, who closed with 2.25 meters after failing three times at the height of 2.28 meters.

Zayas, Pan American champion in Lima 2019 and owner of an indoor personal best of 2.33 meters, started the competition at 2.14 meters and then cleared 2.18 and the aforementioned 2.22 meters.

His performance ended when he knocked down three times the rod placed at 2.35 meters from the ground, according to the sequence published on the competition's website.

Poland's Norbert Kobielski and Mexico's Erick Portillo were others who won the 2.22 meters, also without failures in any of the previous jumps, and therefore occupied the same place as the Cuban.

In the traditional Czech meeting, which has been held since 2018, 13 high jumpers were presented this time, although the South Korean current world indoor champion, Sanghyeok Woo, who was among those announced, was missing.

The best of the orb ranking in the current winter season is a record of 2.38 meters scored last 29th by Russian Danil Lysenko, the only one with more than 2.30 meters so far this year.

In other results of the day, Canadian Sarah Mitton set a record for the meeting of 19.29 meters in the shot put, and so did the host Tomáš Stanek, with 21.45 meters.

The next moment of the current tour for the Cubans will be Zayas himself, invited to the Hustopece meeting, also in the Czech Republic, next Saturday.