69 Cuban athletes will participate in Tokyo Olympics

Havana, July 7 (RHC)-- It's now official!  There will be 69 athletes to be registered by Cuba for the Tokyo Olympic Games, which begin on July 23rd. 

Jose Antonio Miranda, general director of high performance of INDER, explained to JIT that the number of competitors was fixed after the Caribbean island did not receive any of the last places assigned by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

"Once notified, it is official that we will be represented by 36 men and 33 women in 15 sports, and we will participate in 64 events," said Miranda, who arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday as part of the Cuban delegation.

He explained that although it will be the registration, rescheduled for Saturday, which will authenticate the lists, the distribution of quotas has athletics (18), wrestling (12), boxing (7) and judo (6) as vanguards.

The others, as already mentioned, are in the hands of canoeing (5), shooting (5), weightlifting (4), table tennis (2), beach volleyball (2), swimming (2), modern pentathlon (2), taekwondo (1), artistic gymnastics (1), cycling (1) and rowing (1).

Miranda also informed that there are currently six sports involved in preparation bases abroad (athletics, canoeing, cycling, wrestling (m and f), modern pentathlon and swimming, as part of a strategy required of not a few readjustments because of COVID-19.

"Meeting the demands of training and the necessary protocols to avoid the pandemic has been complex, but we have been able to take the necessary steps at every moment and the whole plan of arrivals is already designed, including those that will come from other countries," he emphasized.

He said that even with a numerically reduced roster compared to those presented in the last editions of these events, Cuba has the necessary figures to realize the purpose of appearing among the top 20 in the medal standings by nations.

"We have always stated that the key will lie in the response of the athletes identified as those with the greatest weight with the commitment to defend," recalled the specialist, adding, on behalf of his delegation, the sentiment expressed by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in relation to the events in Atami.

"Heartfelt condolences to the Japanese people and government for the regrettable loss of human lives and material damage caused by landslides in the city of #Atami, which we extend our condolences to the families and relatives of the victims," he wrote on his Twitter account.