News22 Feb 2005


Cuban outdoor season hots up

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Osniel Tosca triple jumps to 17.08m in Havana (© Javier Clavelo Robinson)

 While some of the top Cuban athletes had good performances this Sunday in Athens, others are proving their early-season form at home, especially the triple jumpers and throwers.

A tight Triple Jump selection battle in prospect

At a two day meeting held on Friday and Saturday (18 – 19 Feb) at the Estadio Panamericano in eastern Havana, Osniel Tosca triple jumped to 17.08m which is very close to his 17.17m PB, to confirm himself as a serious contender to make the Cuban team for the World Championships in Helsinki.

Tosca, 20, obtained his best hump in the third attempt to beat 19-year old Alexis Copello (16.45) and 2003 World Youth champion Dennis Fernandez (16.10).

”It is good to start the season with a good mark and I am not yet using the complete run-up. I want to be consistent over 17 metres and improve steadily. It will be tough to make the national team for Helsinki as there are good triple jumpers here, but if you train well, you can attain good results", said Tosca, who was third at the 2001 World Youth Championships.

The women's Triple Jump at the weekend was taken by 17-year old Yanelis Veranes with a personal best of 13.04m, while the Long Jump, saw Yargelis Savigne win with 6.57, ahead of Olympian Yudelkis Fernandez (6.25). “The most important thing is not the win, but the mark. We are ready to jump farther this year", said the 20-year old from Guantánamo.
 
Wilfredo Martinez, 20, was the winner among the men’s Long Jump with a leap of 7.77m in a three-round contest. 2000 Olympic winner and nine-time World champion Ivan Pedroso had three fouls.
      
Good throws in Hammer and Discus
  
Yania Ferrales, who made it to the women’s Olympic final, produced two throws over 64 metres (64.00 and 64.40) to improve her personal best of 62.88 and place herself sixth on the national all-time lists.

”The Olympics were a great experience. I was nervous in the final and could not produce a valid result. This year, the World Championships are a tremendous motivation and we'll see what happens", said a happy Ferrales, who was third in the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. Yarelis Barrios (59.85) and 19-year old Yaima Vives (53.10) also obtained their best best results.

Frank Casañas was the men's Discus winner with 62.70m, while Erick Jimenez improved his personal best by over three metres in the Hammer Throw with a 74.25m effort, which ranks him fourth in the national all-time lists. Jimenez believes the national record (77.78), set by Alberto Sanchez in 1998, can be broken and that Cuban men’s throwing throwers can return to the very top in the sport. Yosmel Montes (71.02) and Noleisis Bicet (70.00) were second and third, respectively.

Other winners were Yarianny Argüelles (1.86) and Dailen Ortega (2.11) respectively in the women’s and men’s High Jumps, and Yoisel Toledo in the Shot Put (18.42).

Youth athletes show good form with Marrakech in mind
 
The youngest athletes in the national team also showed promising results and their ambitions to represent their country in the IAAF World Youth Championships, to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, 13-17 July.

Yanet Cruz, 16, threw the Javelin to 50.75 and Iván Grigorochenko, of Ukrainian origin, had a 16.80m toss in the Shot Put. In the High Jump, Amed Portuondo cleared 2.08, and 15-year old Lesyanis Mayor leapt 1.71.

Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF


NB. Olympic champions Yumileidi Cumba (Shot) and Osleidys Menendez (Javelin) are expected to make their season debuts later this month or in early March.

The weekend’s meeting was part of a series of competitions organized in February and March, and serves as a tune-up for the Copa Cuba or National Champs, 18-20 March.

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