Havana, February 15 (JIT) In a competition marked by rivalry between Cubans and Canadians, the hosts won four gold medals in the 53rd edition of the Cerro Pelado-Granma International Wrestling Tournament, hosted by the capital.
Among the island's freestyle wrestling title winners was Lianna de la Caridad Montero (57kg), bronze medal holder at the World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary in 2018.
Montero repeated her crown from last year with a strong performance at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum, in a competition in which she achieved four victories, the last with a score of 7-1 against teammate Dailianis Canales.
“I come from a very good preparation in the heights of Mexico, with other members of the national team, which undoubtedly helped me a lot to compete here in good conditions,” Montero said.
He added that he benefited one hundred percent from this training, which will help him successfully face the March pre-Olympics in Canada, where he will uphold the aspiration of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
“At the moment I feel very good, although I still have to correct some details to arrive in optimal shape for this important competition,” he said on a stage where the official withdrawal of his compatriot Yakelín Stornell was also applauded.
Also for the Caribbean nation, Yusneylys Guzmán (50 years old), the young María Fernanda Santana (62 years old) and another recruit with an exceptional record, Milaimys de la Caridad Marín (76 years old), climbed to the highest step of the podium.
The other two gold medals in this traditional competition were won by Samantha Stewart (53) and Olivia Dibacco (68), both Canadians, the latter in weight where the Cuban Yudari Sánchez had to settle for the bronze metal.
Sánchez, who became the first Cuban under-23 world champion in 2018, at a fair held in Bucharest, Romania. In this competition, he suffered two setbacks which prevented him from obtaining a better ranking.
Today, men's freestyle wrestling will debut in the elimination phase, to define the medalists on Sunday.
“Internet fanatic. Web ninja. Social media trailblazer. Devoted thinker. Friend of animals everywhere.”
