Cuba Claims Two Golds and a Bronze on Opening Day of the 2026 Pan American Senior Judo Championship

April 19, 2026

Cuba's judo team delivered a standout performance on the opening day of the 2026 Pan American Senior Judo Championship, held on April 19 at the Panama Hotel in Panama City. Jonathan Charón and Orlando Polanco took gold medals in the -60 kg and -66 kg men's categories respectively, while Dayanara Curbelo Travieso added a bronze in the women's +78 kg division.

Charón, from Guantánamo, produced the most dramatic result of the day, defeating junior world number one Jonathan Yang of the United States in the final with a waza-ari advantage in the golden score period — just as he was approaching disqualification. The victory builds on the progress he showed in 2025, when he earned his first World Judo Tour medal in Georgia. The International Judo Federation noted that Cuba had "asserted its strength in the lightest weight category."

In the -66 kg final, Polanco overcame Ecuadorian Jhonathan Benavides — a 20-year-old grand prix medalist — to secure Cuba's second gold of the session. Curbelo Travieso earned the bronze in the +78 kg category when Olympic champion Beatriz Souza of Brazil did not appear for the third-place contest. Cuba ended the first day of competition atop the session's medal standings, setting an encouraging tone for the rest of the tournament.