Cuban divers on active waiting heading to Paris 2024

Full of satisfaction to arrive at the Baraguá Swimming Pool Complex, in the east of the capital, and find the atmosphere that surrounds the two best Cuban divers of the moment.

Anisley García and Prisis Leidy Ruiz deserve such a qualification, earned thanks to their good performances that they have been performing since last year, and that have led them to the imminent qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which could become official in the coming days.

For both of them, the Parisian event will represent their debut in these fights and although this raises expectations, they assure that they have not yet idealized that transcendental moment.

«I try not to think about what will happen in Paris. I'm just looking to relax and work for when that moment comes," Anisley – or La Tuti, as she is known – assures JIT, a “veteran” in ornamental jumping, although she is barely over 22 years old.

"We are training very hard, focused as if the classification were already a fact," said the two-time queen of the platform in Central Caribbean events and among the candidates for places by ranking in Paris 2024.

Although the deadline for possible movements within the universal ranking and confirmations from each federation about their representatives in synchronized events closed on June 9, World Aquatics has not made public the lists of contestants in the upcoming event under the five rings.

La Tuti aspires to be among those chosen to compete in the platform test, her safest option thanks to the 19th place achieved in the Doha universal competition, earlier this year. However, she could also be among the 32 who will try their luck on the springboard from three meters.

For Prisis, the opportunities seem clearer – according to specialist calculations – since her 16th place on the three-meter springboard in the Qatari city guaranteed her a good place in the Olympic rankings.

"I hope I can be the second Cuban to compete on the springboard in the Olympic Games," proudly confesses the woman from Santiago, who is little by little retracing the path previously taken by the now national sports commissioner, Milagros González.

«We are training hard, working as hard as possible and executing as many jumps as possible to correct the mistakes made in previous presentations. It is exhausting, physically and mentally, because they are complicated jumps and we have to repeat a lot to seek perfection," says the champion of the specialty in the San Salvador 2023 regional multisport competition.

Hugo Pérez de Corcho jealously guides the preparation, agrees on the importance of the repetitions of the programs and the work from the psychological point of view that they have been carrying out in the most recent weeks.

He also praised the exercise of strength in the gym as a complement to the design of a preparation that previously had an excellent training base in Colombia.

«Two days a week they repeat their competition programs in morning and afternoon sessions. We reach at least seven repetitions a week," explains Hugo, who has very well identified the strengths of each disciple.

«Anisley has a mentality that allows her to make up for other deficiencies and in Prisis the best thing is her potential. "She has everything to be a high-level diver, but she needs to mentalize it... as we say in sports slang, she has to believe it and she will be able to get there," he says.

The Paris 2024 diving event scheduled its actions between July 27 and August 10 and the first days will be dedicated to the synchronized modalities. The platform preliminaries and semifinals are scheduled for August 5, while the trampoline semifinals will take place on the 7th and 8th.

China appears as the main favorite to win titles in all events, without ignoring that its claims may cross powers such as the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Mexico, just to mention those with the greatest possibilities.