Two gold medals were won by Cuba on Monday at the Jorge "El Mágico" González National Stadium, venue of the shooting event of the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games.
Havana, July 4 (RHC)-- Two gold medals were won by Cuba on Monday at the Jorge "El Mágico" González National Stadium, venue of the shooting event of the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games.
The 25-meter rapid fire pistol team, made up of Leuris Pupo, Jorge Álvarez and Jorge Grau, won one of the most awaited titles of the delegation, thanks to shots of 551, 571 and 562 points, respectively, for a total of 1,684.
Behind them were the teams from Guatemala (1,600) and Puerto Rico (1,579), which could not storm the top of the podium despite the fact that this Sunday Pupo suffered a mishap with his pistol and lost a complete series of shots. In another competitive context, such a thing would have been defining.
Alvarez led the individual classification with a score of 571 units; Grau was third with 562 and Pupo sixth with 551, closing the list for a final in which everything starts from scratch.
However, this Monday was not Pupo's day either, undoubtedly "loaded" by everything that happened on the previous day. Two heats of two points and one of one condemned him to a low score of 22, behind the duo of Alvarez and Grau, who were in superior form and obtained 28 and 25 units, in that order.
Once again, one country (Cuba) won the first three places in the event, although this time it was made clear during the competition that only the winners of the first two places would be awarded. Third place went to Mexico's Fidencio Gonzalez, who finished fourth with 17 goals.
And if we are talking about repeated scenes, during the awards ceremony Fidencio gave his medal to Leuris, in a beautiful and transcendent act that reconfirms the need to urgently review the current regulations of Centro Caribe Sports.
This reporter defends the idea that a country should never top the podium, since the Games are a competition between nations and it is in its best interest to share as many medals as possible.
However, it is not logical to let an athlete enter a final and then take away a medal won in a good fight. It could work to regulate access to these decisive sections.
The Island's shooters have accumulated 16 medals in these Games, divided into five gold, six silver and five bronze, with one day of competition left.
WORDS OF THE CHAMPIONS
"In the final I was working well on the technical part, but the shots were not falling in the center. They were close to the zone, but not in the center. That indicated some hesitation and I focused on not getting desperate and controlling my anxiety. Then it started to work better," Alvarez told the press.
"I won when there were only three Cubans left in the competition. From then on I went to complete the competition. I feel very happy every time we are the only Cubans left in a final, because the gold medal goes to Cuba. It doesn't matter on whose chest...", added the Pan American title holder in Lima 2019.
The champion had words of praise for Pupo, whom he catalogued as Cuba's best shooter of all time, and for Grau, whom he considers very complete.
Pupo told JIT that the competition was very complicated for him because of the problem he suffered with the gun, something that had not happened to him since the 2011 Guadalajara Pan American Games. He celebrated the medals of his teammates in the individual competition and affirmed that his priority is the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, passing by the Pan American Games at the end of this year.
Grau was satisfied with what has been achieved so far, with the effort made to compete here, but lamented the lack of experience that always comes to light in major competitions.
Meinardo Torres, coach of this modality, highlighted the unity of his students and the way in which they collaborate, no matter who wins. He set the next goal at the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023.
Source: JIT.
Havana, Jul 4 (RHC) Two gold medals were won by Cuba on Monday at the Jorge "El Mágico" González National Stadium, venue of the shooting event of the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games.
The 25-meter rapid fire pistol team, made up of Leuris Pupo, Jorge Álvarez and Jorge Grau, won one of the most awaited titles of the delegation, thanks to shots of 551, 571 and 562 points, respectively, for a total of 1,684.
Behind them were the teams from Guatemala (1,600) and Puerto Rico (1,579), which could not storm the top of the podium despite the fact that this Sunday Pupo suffered a mishap with his pistol and lost a complete series of shots. In another competitive context, such a thing would have been defining.
Alvarez led the individual classification with a score of 571 units; Grau was third with 562 and Pupo sixth with 551, closing the list for a final in which everything starts from scratch.
