Cuba with 10 Athletes to IAAF World Junior Championship

Havana, May 29 (Prensa Latina) Cuba will attend the IAAF World Junior Championships, scheduled for July 22nd through the 27th in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. According to the national Athletics Commission, the team is headed by triple jumper Lazaro Martinez, junior world champion, whose best mark is 17.24 m.

Women's heptathlon athlete Yorgelis Rodriguez (6,231 points as a personal-best mark) and sprinter Arialis Gandulla (23.19 seconds in 200 meter) are also expected to win medals.

Other female athletes to participate in the competition will be Sahily Diago (800m) Liadagmis Povea (triple jump), Saily Viart (shot put) and Gilda Casanova (400m).

Meanwhile, male athletes include Santiago Ford (decathlon), Andy Diaz (triple jump) and José Luis Gaspar (400 meter hurdles).

Cuba competed in the last IAAF World Junior Championships (Barcelona, 2012) with 11 representatives and ranked fourth with three gold medals and a bronze medal, and Yorgelis Rodriguez was one of the champions.

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Cuban Ruiz Wins Silver at Pan-American Weight-Lifting Event

Santo Domingo, May 29 (Prensa Latina), -- Cuban Lazaro Maykel Ruiz won two silver medals in the 62-kilogram division of the Pan-American Weight Lifting Championship, which continues today on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic.

The medals were his final result in the snatch competition and the total, with 123 and 273 kilograms, respectively, to follow Colombian Francisco Mosquera, who also won the clean and jerk competition.

Ruiz was the runner up in the latter event, but judges did not count a 154-kilogram lift carried out at the exact moment that there was a power cut at Parque del Este park, venue of the competition, with participation of 247 athletes from 23 countries.

Although his coaches lodged a complaint, the Cuban athlete had no other choice than to accept the score for the previous 150-kilogram lift, allowing Mexican Antonio Vazquez and Salvadorian Julio Slamanca to access the podium.

The latter athlete also finished in third place, as the final result of both events.

Aside from the regrettable incident, Ruiz told the Prensa Latina news agency he was satisfied with the results, because they were achieved in a category different from that in which he usually competes.

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Chess

Grand Master (GM) Isam Ortiz, Cuban two-time national champ, will depart on June 5th for the United States to participate in some international chess tournaments.

Ortiz (with 2588 Elo points) will accompany his counterparts Lázaro Bruzón, Yunieski Quesada and Yuri González to U.S. territory.

"We intend to play at the Las Vegas Open, the one of New York and then the World Open, which is the strongest of all, ¨Ortiz said to Radio Angulo provincial station.

The player was recently involved in the Capablanca In Memoriam Premier Cup, where he finished fourth with the same score (6 points) of his three other compatriots, but he was less favored by the tiebreak system.

He stated that he feels satisfied with his performance in that tourney as he won about 12 points for his ELO ranking, with which he would return to the club of 2600.

Isam Ortiz will also represent Cuba at the next World Chess Olympiad set for August in Tromso, Norway, where he should accompany GMs Leinier Dominguez, Lazaro Bruzón, Yunieski Quesada and a fifth player to be defined.

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Official Ball Presented for Soccer World Cup Final Match

Bern, May 29 (Prensa Latina) The sports brand Adidas unveiled today the "Brazuca Final Rio", the official ball to be used at the final match of the Brazil-2014 World Cup.

On July 13th, this ball will be critical at the game in which two teams will meet on the field to fight for a place in history, reads the official website of the International Football Federation (FIFA).

The text underlines that the Brazuca Final Rio design is inspired by the green and golden of the Trophy FIFA World Cup, and is a variation of the official "Brazuca" ball, presented in December last year.

After the presentation, Adidas sent copies to all member associations that qualify for the World Cup, so that all teams would have enough time to practice with the new ball, both in training and competition time. This ball was at the FIFA Club World Cup, Copa del Rey, the U.S. MLS and the German Cup, as well as numerous international friendly matches.

Before its official launch, both Brazuca as Brazuca Final Rio were under an exhaustive control process over two and a half years in which more than 600 of the world's best players participated along with 30 teams from 10 countries and three continents.

According to FIFA, this makes it the Adidas ball that has passed the most tests and its performance is guaranteed in all conditions.

Among the clubs that took part in the trials are the Italian AC Milan, German Bayern Munich and Brazilian Palmeiras and Fluminense.

The players involved in the testing process were the Argentinian Lionel Messi, Spanich Iker Casillas, German Bastian Schweinsteiger, and the former player French Zinedine Zidane. This ball, similar to the Tango 12 (Euro-2012), has a structural novelty with an unique symmetry of six identical panels on a different surface to provide better grip, feel, stability and aerodynamics on the field.

The Brazuca has been thoroughly tested and exceeds all parameters relating to the FIFA official balls, ensuring optimum performance in all conditions.