Cuba Wins Three Judo Gold Medals at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games

July 26, 2026

Cuban judo had a standout day on Saturday, July 25, 2026, at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center in Santo Domingo, claiming three gold medals on the opening day of competition at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games.

Guantánamo native Jonathan Charón opened the gold count for the Cuban delegation with a win in the men's -60 kilogram division, defeating El Salvador's Jairo Moreno in the final. Charón, regarded as one of the world's top-ranked judokas in his weight class, had already claimed the Pan American title in April of this year in Panama City.

Minutes later, Havana's Orlando Polanco repeated the feat in the -66 kilogram category, beating Mexico's Robin Jara in the final and reinforcing Cuban dominance in the men's lighter weight divisions.

In the women's competition, Dali Sentmanat Despaigne took gold in the -52 kilogram category, delivering Cuba's third title of the day.

With these results, Cuba positioned itself among the leading countries in the medal table on judo's opening day, a discipline that will continue over the coming days at the regional Games, running from July 24 to August 8, 2026, in the Dominican capital.