Best athletes of the year honored in Havana

The best Havana athletes of 2023 were awarded at a gala held at the La Giraldilla cultural complex, located west of the capital.

With the presence of the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the province, Luis Antonio Torres Iribar, and the governor Yanet Hernández Pérez, the sports authorities gave fair recognition to the city residents who put the name of their homeland high in a packed season competitions.

Wrestling won the most important awards, being selected as the best sport of the year, as happened at the national level.

Yusneylis Guzmán, of the women's style, titleholder in the 50 kilograms (kg) at the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador 2023 and at the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023, received her award for best in Individual sport.

In the men's branch, the Greco-Roman wrestler Luis Alberto Orta, who could not be present at the ceremony, was chosen in a year in which he destroyed all his rivals.

The pride of the capital's La Güinera neighborhood, in addition to winning the regional and continental multi-sport events, won the gold medal at the world championship in Belgrade, a performance that earned him the election of the best Greco-Roman wrestler on the planet. The moment in which he Robiel Yankiel Sol came on stage to receive his award for best athlete with a disability, thanks to his gold medal at the continental event in Chile and the three world records set in the last 12 months in the long jump.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion stated that he worked very hard with his coach to achieve these results and achieve the goals he set for himself.

We thought that in Chile we could implement a new world brand and we achieved it. “I have always trusted myself and knew I could do it,” he said.

In Paris 2024 I will go out to look for a good result, I am not thinking about brands right now, the goal is to bring the title home again, he added.

THE AWARDS

-Most outstanding female para-athlete: Leidis Posada Cañizares (Archery).

-Most outstanding male para-athlete: Andrisleidis Silot del Rosario (Athletics).

-Outstanding para-athletes of the year: Dayan Sosa Perez (Taekwondo), Yoelvis Rodriguez Dalmau (Badminton) and Marcos Mayor Rodriguez (Taekwondo).

-Most outstanding in special activities: Erick Hernández Sánchez (Soccer/ touches on the ball).

-Rookie of the year: Brayan Díaz Montero (Karate).

THE 10 MOST OUTSTANDING ATHLETES

-María Fernanda Santana Garcia (Women's Wrestling), Milaimis de la Caridad Marín Potrille (Women's Wrestling), Oscar Pino Hinds (Greco-Roman Wrestling), Daniel Gregorich Hechavarría (Greco-Roman Wrestling), Alejandro Valdez Tobier (Wrestling), Jorge Moisés Campo Valdez ( Table Tennis), Andy M. Pereira Díaz (Table Tennis), Reidy Cardona Blanco (Rowing), Orlando Polanco Perera (Judo) and Cristian Nápoles Cria (Athletics)

-Event of the year: Table tennis performance.

-Featured in contract: Jasiel Rivero Fernández (Basketball).

-Most notable team: Basketball (Capitalos).

-Most notable collective sport: Soccer.

-Best in non-individual sport: Men's Table Tennis duo.

-Most notable individual sport: Wrestling.

-Best female team sport: Rosa Leal Armenteros (Handball).

-Best male team sport: Hansel Michel Rodríguez Rodríguez (Handball).

-Most outstanding para-athlete: Robiel Yankiel Sol Cervantes (Athletics).

-Best female individual sport: Yusneylis Guzmán (Women's Wrestling).

-Best male individual sport: Luis Alberto Orta Sánchez (Greco-Roman Wrestling).