Noraivis de las Heras

Havana, July 12 (JIT) - Cuba's Noraivis de las Heras placed seventh in the discus throw, category F64, at the World Parathletics Championships in Paris 2023, thanks to her best record of the season.

The Guantanamera, medalist in the Paralympic Games of Athens 2004 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, obtained a mark of 28.29 meters in a competition dominated by Chinese favorite Juan Yao with a throw of 41.66 meters.

Noraivis had three other valid shots in the Charléty stadium, all over 25.80 meters. However, they were insufficient to get closer to a podium completed by Poland's Faustyna Kotlowska (38.58 meters) and USA's Samantha Heyison (37.84).

From the competition venue, in conversation with JIT, the methodologist of the Department of Sports for People with Disabilities of Inder, Jorge Reinaldo Palma, recalled that this is not their main modality, so they expect a better performance in the shot put.

He emphasized that in the French capital she improved her season's top performance, a performance that if repeated next Saturday in the direct final could open a space among the top five and give her a ticket to the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024.

The Cuban delegation made its debut in this event with Gerdan Fonseca's eighth place in the javelin in the F57 category. He achieved a personal best of 40.83 meters, but for now he does not have a ticket for next year's Parisian event.

Omara Durand, the main reference of parathletics on the island, has her debut scheduled for this Wednesday with her participation in the heats of the 400 meters.

She is also registered to run the 100 and 200 meters, with the purpose of defending her reigns in the Dubai 2019 event.