Venezuela and Cuba Dominate the ALBA Games

On Sunday, the athletes from Venezuela and Cuba stood out. They lead the number of medals obtained in the 5th games of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).

Carried out in Venezuelan territory, this international contest began on Friday, April 21 and will end on Saturday, April 29. So far, the organizers have awarded 259 medals, of which 90 are gold, another 90 silver, and 79 bronze.

Venezuelan athletes lead the competition with 173 medals, distributed in 62 gold medals, 67 silver medals and 44 bronze. Cuban athletes have achieved 41 medals: 22 gold, 10 silver and nine bronze.

Other countries that have achieved medals are Nicaragua with three gold medals, 12 silvers and 23 bronzes; and Bolivia with three gold medals, one silver and three bronze. 

Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Granada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia and Russia are also participating in the 2023 ALBA games.

President Nicolas Maduro's tweet reads, "We are happy to open Venezuela's doors to brotherhood and joy that only sport can give us. The 2023 ALBA Games are a true celebration of our peoples' union."

On Sunday, Venezuela won four gold medals in Taekwondo, a discipline in which Cuba won two gold medals.

In the individual cycling road test, the Venezuelans Reinaldo Arocha, Luis Pinto and Luis Mora made the 1-2-3. The Venezuelan women's soccer team began its participation in the ALBA games on the right foot, defeating Dominica 13-0..

Founded in 2004 by Presidents Hugo Chavez (Venezuela) and Fidel Castro (Cuba), the ALBA began organizing games in 2005, when about 2,000 athletes from 18 Latin American countries competed in Havana. The games' last edition was held in Venezuela in 2011.