José Antonio Miranda

Havana, Jul 3 (PL) Authorities of the Cuban Sports Institute (Inder) ratified today the commitment to achieve five gold medals in the Olympic Games and about six medals in the Paralympics in Paris 2024.

According to Jose Antonio Miranda, director of High Performance of Inder, with that balance, Cuba can maintain a place among the top 20 countries in the overall medal count. 

Although the official closing of athletics is still pending, which should be around 10 qualifiers, the Antillean delegation will be over 62 athletes in 16 sports, with an average age of 27 years, and a little more than half of them already have experience under the five rings.

The main hopes of reaching the podium are in athletics, boxing, canoeing, wrestling, shooting and judo.

For his part, Jorge Reinaldo Palma, head of the Department of Sports for People with Disabilities of Inder, said that the Paralympics should be attended by some 22 competitors in nine disciplines, of which taekwondo and archery will make their debut.

Palma regretted that the Paralympic champion Yordani Fernandez could not finally integrate the judo team because after the last tests he was found ineligible due to his degree of disability.

Both delegations will be bannered on July 9th at Plaza de la Revolución, although the bulk of the conventional delegation is already on European soil and will not return until the end of their summer incursion.