Cirilo Seeks Consecration in 2023

Before the beginning of year 2022, very few believed canoeist Yarisleidis Cirilo could end up as the Best Female Athlete of the Season in Cuba.

However, paddling after paddling, medal after medal, the girl from Guantanamo increased a record that was the envy of the rest of Cuban athletes.

Both in the solo racing canoe and in tandem, together with Katherin Nuevo, Cirilo fully entered the world elite of her demanding discipline, and earned the respect of competitors from the rest of the world.

After a promising 2021, in 2022 Cirilo and Nuevo won gold in the C-2 at 200 meters at the World Championships held in Halifax, Canada, to which they added titles in that same distance at the Racice World Cups, Czech Republic. , and Poznan, Poland.

In the same way, in the C-2 at 500 meters they won gold in Poznan and silver in Racice, while personally Cirilo also achieved the first places in the C-1 at 200 meters in both world events.

In an interview with CubaSí, the 20-year-old paddler confessed that she has ambitious goals for this year.

«I feel quite good, according to the world level, with the possibility of taking medals in all the events in which I participate. It’s not easy, because otherwise anyone would do it, but I see myself with chances in both events.

—Do you see yourselves at the highest level?

—We always go all out for the gold or, at least, to be on the podium. We win and lose to anyone; for a second or less you can lose a medal. This year we lost a gold by a thousandth. It's hard to lose so many months of training for a single detail, but that's what we train for. The longest test is just under two minutes and there you risk everything.

—There’s a lot of potential in canoeing, in a general sense, based on young people, but also with a veteran like Serguey Torres. What is the relationship like, taking into account that they are different generations?

—Serguey is someone very important to all of us, because sometimes what little we lack he provides, both in training and in competitions, when we meet; he is a great motivator.

"It's a very nice environment because we help each other, and it's great to have someone with so much experience, because it motivates us a lot."

Cuban canoeing will have its great test this year at the World Championship scheduled in Duisburg (Germany) between August 23-27, where the first passes for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be awarded.

In the case of Cirilo, to qualify for the C-1 she would have to finish among the best six (two places less than in the World Cup prior to Tokyo 2020), while in the C-2 there will be eight spots to distribute, so chances are better.

However, like she says, the goal is always gold, and if she wins it, it would be her consecration.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff