The Cuban Gretel Mendoza will be missed by her teammates in the artistic gymnastics competition of the XIX Pan American Games of Santiago 2023, to which she will arrive with the ambitious goal of being included among the eight best in the all-around competition.

La Granma, bronze medalist in the ribbon and sixth in the final of the highest accumulators of the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games of San Salvador 2023, will be the only representative of the island to challenge the American, Canadian and American favorites. in the capital of Chile, Brazilians.

Gretel experienced with some success the high level that the Colombians and Mexicans brought to the last regional multi-sport event, but now her opportunities to shine seem much reduced with the November 1 start date with the ball and field qualifications. hoop.

“We have prepared her so that she has a good performance in all four programs and can advance to the final of clubs and ribbons, which would be an exceptional result,” the national gymnastics commissioner told JIT rhythm, Yainet Villalta.

“Our sport increases the demands day by day. You have to be more and more precise, you have to constantly modify the difficulty of the starting notes to be in tune with the world. Being evaluated by the judges weighs a lot,” explained the jury, aware that Gretel will face a much higher standard than that observed at San Salvador 2023.

“After the Central Caribbean Games, we increased the difficulty of moving and handling tools. Preparations also focused on carrying out cleaner executions,” he added.

Villalta also clarified that in the last part of the preparation, emphasis was placed on the artistic component, since bodily expression has great weight in each routine. The rehearsal of the programs will be concentrated almost every day until the Games, he assures.

Gretel was among the eight best gymnasts in the hoop modality in Lima 2019. She now aspires to improve this performance, supported by the experience lived during several months in Russia, where she had the opportunity to share her training with the main personalities of this nation.

The advice received from renowned coaches could bear fruit on the tapestry of the Collective Sports Center of Ñuñoa, where unfortunately the young Cuban team will not be there, completely renovated and without tickets for Santiago 2023.