Cuba Welcomes Its Champions Back from Asunción 2025

A group of Cuban athletes who competed in the II Junior Pan American Games Asunción 2025 returned home today after a flight from the Paraguayan capital that landed at José Martí International Airport in Havana.

Led by Yainelis Sanz, Greili Bencosme, Vladimir Vila, and Enmanuel de la Rosa, all gold medalists at the multi-sport event, the delegation included representatives of wrestling, weightlifting, skating, table tennis, and members of the men’s indoor volleyball team, who won bronze in Paraguay.

After traveling with a stopover in Panama City, the athletes were welcomed by Raúl Fornés Valenciano, First Vice President of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), along with other Cuban sports authorities.

“Happy to be back on our soil after giving everything, we worked for months to reach our goals,” said flagbearer Sanz, champion in the women’s freestyle 57 kilograms for the second time in Junior Pan American Games history.

Wrestling, long known as “the Locomotive of Cuban Sport,” secured three gold medals, five silver, and two bronze, finishing third in the discipline’s medal table behind the United States with 10 gold, two silver, and four bronze, and Venezuela with four gold, two silver, and three bronze.

At Terminal Three of José Martí International Airport, welcoming remarks were delivered by José Cedeño Tamayo, National Director of Physical Education and Sports for All, who congratulated the athletes for their commitment in every competition regardless of whether they returned with medals.

Another flight is expected to arrive in Havana at 5 p.m. carrying the artistic swimming and triathlon teams, while in the early hours of Monday the remainder of the under-23 volleyball squad is scheduled to return.

The men’s volleyball players secured qualification for the Lima 2027 Pan American Games by finishing first among teams from the North, Central America, and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation at the multi-sport event.

On Sunday, opposite hitter Alejandro González spoke on behalf of the delegation, thanking the authorities for the reception and stating that Asunción 2025 served as motivation to continue striving to become elite athletes and worthy representatives of Cuba.

As a final stage of the homecoming, canoeing and track and field teams are expected to land Monday night. Together, they won 11 gold medals, with athletics standing out as the island’s strongest discipline, capturing eight titles and securing Cuba’s dominance in the track and field competitions held in the Paraguayan capital.

The Cuban delegation, composed of 216 athletes, concluded its participation in the Games, which took place from August 9 to 23, in seventh place in the medal standings with a total of 47 medals: 19 gold, 13 silver, and 15 bronze.

Although this marked a drop of two places compared to the fifth-place finish in Cali-Valle 2021, the overall performance of the Cuban athletes was described as positive and consistent with expectations, highlighted by 17 qualifications secured for Lima 2027.