By Carlos Bandinez
Cuba's Jhoen Lefont set a world record in ball control in a swimming pool after he made 122 touches to a soccer ball while carrying a 15-kilogram weight around his waist.
Jhoen Lefont, a former polo player and practitioner of special sports, achieved the records in the pool of the Iberoestar Riviera Hotel in this capital city, in the presence of judges accredited by the International Swimming Federation and other specialists.
After more than half an hour of achieving the record, the judges of the event officially confirmed the figure of 122 touches, after reviewing the videos of the two cameras, one located at the water level of the pool and the other underwater. In this way, the athlete masterfully broke his previous record, set at 99 touches in 2014, at the same Hotel.
Lefont broke in a period of 20 days three Guinness records of ball mastery, among them the test of keeping the ball in balance on the head for 23 minutes and 02 seconds without falling into the water and the highest number of touches to a ball with displacements, i.e. swimming up to a distance of 600 meters, both in the Baragua complex, in this capital.
My preparation for this attempt was very good, both physically and psychologically," said Lefont.
The Cuban athete thanked the support of his family, friends, the team of underwater cameramen of the national aquarium, the support of the press and trainers who help him in the challenge of fulfilling his intense preparation.
In a special way, he dedicated the first place to his coaches Jorge del Valle and Jesús Laurencio, who always guide him, support him and give him enough encouragement not to lose his concentration in order to achieve his goals.
The Cuban set his first record on February 27, 2010, with 534 strokes, while the second mark was achieved on November 28 of the same year, with 1,000 10.
However, his first record, approved by the Guinness World Records Commission of experts, was on April 28, 2012, when he hit the ball 1,203 times with his head in the swimming pool of the Hotel Nacional.
Among his records that also stand out are the one he set in the channel of the Club Náutico Internacional Hemingway, in Havana, where he swam 200 meters with a soccer ball in 7:24.60 minutes; and the one of 99 touches to the ball with a ballast of 15 kilograms of weight.
In preparation, he swims about five kilometers a day, divided into all styles, with a predominance of freestyle and emphasizing the training that goalkeepers do to have greater resistance.
Lefont already has more than 20 world records, six of them are Guinness records and he is the Cuban with the most records recognized by that book.
