Cuban Rower Qualifies to Semi-finals in Youth Olympiad

The Cuban rower Orlando Sotolongo qualified this Sunday to the semifinal of the Youths Olympics, to be held next Tuesday in the city of Nanjing, China.Another rower, Irianni Roman, failed to qualify but will participate in the repechage to try to achieve a place among the world’s best in the junior division, Prensa Latina news agency (PL) reported today.

The Cuban Ivan Felipe Silva ( 81 kg) will participate today in the judo competitions.

This day also includes the beginning of swimming, sport in which the Caribbean Island will be represented by Elisbet Gamez in the women’s 100 meters freestyle.

Boxing will start on August 23 rd with a first match including Cuban boxers Javier Ibáñez (56 kg), world junior champion, the also world champion of the category Alain Limonta (60 kg) and Yoan Hernandez (91 kg ).

The boxers are considered Cuba’s main trump card in this 2nd Youth Olympics, opened on Saturday at Nanjing Stadium by Xi Jinping, president of the Asian nation.

According to PL, nearly four thousand athletes compete in 28 sports called for this competition.

Exchanges between the young athletes, aged 14 to 18, and talks with Olympic champions are also planned for today among other activities that are intended to promote knowledge, culture and friendship among participants.