Another Throne for Yarisleidis

If last year she was sensational because no one expected it, in 2023 canoeist Yarisleidis Cirilo was confirmed in the world elite of her discipline and she should have no opposition to repeat as the Best Female Athlete in Cuba.

Her gold medal in the C-1 at 200 meters at the World Championships, which gave her qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, was the only crown for a woman in world events in the last 12 months.

In addition, she won the title in that same modality in the World Cup of the discipline and in the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile 2023. She would have added more metals in the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, but her specialty was not called and did not compete.

Undoubtedly, this is one of the safest bets in Cuban women's sports for the upcoming event in Paris.

Luckily she won’t be the only one, since the two who opt with her for the Cuban Athlete award also have great options to climb onto the podium in Paric; judoka Idalys Ortiz and the triple jumper Leyanis Pérez.

Ortiz, with medals of all colors in Olympic Games won individual and team titles in both San Salvador and Santiago de Chile, in addition to winning the Pan American Open in Ecuador. The unfinished business for her was in the World Cup, where she was not able to go up to the awards stage, like she had done so many times before.

She did won a Pérez world medal, bronze in the world competition held in Budapest, silver in the triple jump and long jump in the Salvadoran competition and gold medal in her main specialty in Santiago. On top of that, she was a finalist in the Diamond League and finished third in the world ranking.

Also standing out in the last 12 months was the wrestler Milaimy de la Caridad Marín, monarch in the continental competition and who also qualified for Paris 2024, where she could also win a medal.

Another outstanding performance in the season was the sprinter Yunisleidy de la Caridad García, winner of gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Central American Games, and two golds and a silver in the Pan American Games, in addition to improving the old national record in the 100 meters.

Her teammates Sahily Diago, Rose Mary Almanza, and Zurian Hechavarría, also multi-medalists in the year’s main events, also deserve recognition. Two other of our athletes, the cyclist Arlenis Sierra and the tennis player Daniela Fonseca were confirmed among the best female representation of Cuba.

Sierra stood out with her silver medal in the individual time trial in Santiago and two golds in El Salvador, along with outstanding performances in the elite of her sport as a member of the Spanish club Movistar.

Meanwhile, Fonseca shone with her gold medal in mixed doubles in the continental competition and in team competition in the regional, plus the individual in the ALBA Games and the Caribbean senior tournament held in Guyana.

All of them, and others that may have been below expectations but have potential, represent the vanguard of Cuban women's sports, which had a pretty good year 2023.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff