Mijaín López, Omara Durand and Idalys Ortiz are Cuba's best athletes of the year

December 16, 2021

Mijaín López, Omara Durand and Idalys Ortiz lead the best representatives of Cuban sports in the year that concludes, according to the report announced this Wednesday as a result of the traditional vote organized by Inder and the specialized press.

Mijaín, star of Greco-Roman wrestling, topped the male competitors in individual sports and was also distinguished as the protagonist of the main event of a campaign in which he became a four-time Olympic champion.

Judoka Idalys garnered the highest number of votes in the segment dedicated to women in individual disciplines, in recognition of her silver medal at Tokyo 2020, where she achieved her fourth consecutive rise to Olympic podiums.

In another expected election, runner Durand placed at the top of athletes with disabilities, supported by three titles at the Japanese capital event.

The stellar sprinter Omara Durand. Photo: Twitter.comParalympics.

Boxing as an individual sport, the canoeist duo of Fernando Dayán Jorge and Serguey Torres as best in non-individual event; and the distinction of most outstanding rookie for her teammate Yarisleidis Cirilo also stood out among the honors made official this Wednesday.

The awards ceremony will take place on December 23rd, with a special addition dedicated to the main contributors to excellent Cuban performance at the recent I Junior Pan American Games in Cali 2021, said José Antonio Miranda, general director of high performance at Inder.

As reported in due time, the selection of the best athletes in the youth category will take place at the beginning of the year and will culminate in a ceremony coordinated with the Union of Young Communists.

Idalys Ortiz of Cuba defeated Portuguese Rochele Nunes by wazari under golden score rule. Photo: Roberto Morejón, Jit newspaper, Inder.

Below are the best by categories…

Female athlete individual sport
Idalys Ortiz Bocourt

Judo (+ 78 kg)

Artemisa

Coach: Yordanis Arencibia Verdecia

Male athlete individual sport
Mijaín López Núñez

Greco-Roman wrestling (130 kg)

Pinar del Río

Coach: Raúl de Jesús Trujillo Díaz

Female athlete collective sport
Lidianny Echevarría Benítez

Beach volleyball

Artemisa

Coach: Alain Hernández Vázquez

Male athlete collective sport
Miguel A. López Castro

Volleyball

Cienfuegos

Coach: Nicolás E. Vives Coffigny

Rookie of the year
Yarisleidi Cirilo Duboy

Canoeing

Guantánamo

Coach: Nelson Perales García

Non-individual event
Fernando Dayán Jorge Enríquez-Serguey Torres Madrigal

Canoeing (C2-1000 m)

Cienfuegos-Sancti Spíritus

Coach: Yosniel Domínguez Sánchez

Most outstanding team
Women's Beach Volleyball Duo

Leila C. Martínez Ortega-Lidianny Echevarría Benítez

Havana-Artemisa

Coach: Alain Hernández Vázquez

Individual sport
Boxing

Top 10 athletes

1. Julio César La Cruz Peraza

Boxing (91-92 kg)

Camagüey

Coach: José Ramón Amador López

2. Andy Cruz Gómez

Boxing (63-63.5 kg)

Matanzas

Coach: Emiliano Chirino Álvarez

3. Fernando Dayán Jorge Enríquez

Canoeing

Cienfuegos

Coach: Yosniel Domínguez Sánchez

4. Luis Orta Sánchez

Greco-Roman wrestling (60 kg)

Havana

Coach: Leonel Pérez Almeida

5. Leuris Pupo Requejo

Sport Shooting (Rapid fire pistol 25 m)

Holguín

Coach: Meinardo Torres Moraga

6. Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo

Boxing (69 kg)

Pinar del Río

Coach: Enrique Steyners Tissert

7. Serguey Torres Madrigal

Canoeing

Sancti Spíritus

Coach: Yosniel Domínguez Sánchez

8. Juan Miguel Echevarría Laflé

Track and Field (Long Jump)

Camagüey

Coach: Daniel Enrique Osorio Díaz

9. Yaimé Pérez Téllez

Track and Field (Discus)

Santiago de Cuba

Coach: Hilda Elisa Ramos Manes

10. Rafael Y. Alba Castillo

Taekwondo (over 80 kg)

Santiago de Cuba

Coach: René García Coffigny

Mentions
Lázaro J. Álvarez Estrada

Boxing (57 kg)

Pinar del Río

Coach: Julio Lázaro Mena Díaz

Reineris Salas Pérez

Freestyle wrestling (97 kg)

Havana

Coach: Rafael Martínez Bicet

Maykel D. Massó Bavastro

Track and Field (Long Jump)

Santiago de Cuba

Coach: Daniel Enrique Osorio Díaz

Yoenlys F. Hernández Martínez

Boxing (75 kg)

Camagüey

Coach: Víctor Sánchez Matos

Events of the year
Mijaín López Núñez

Greco-Roman wrestling (130 kg)

Pinar del Río

Becomes the wrestler with the most Olympic titles by prevailing at the Tokyo 2020 event, continuing his reigns from 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Coach: Raúl de Jesús Trujillo Díaz

Best athlete under contract through his federation
Arlenis Sierra Cañadilla

Cycling

Granma

Coach: Leonel Álvarez Díaz

Best national referee
Wilfredo García Castro (Taekwondo)

Havana

Best international referee
Luis Enrique Charadán Pierre

Badminton

Havana

Special activities
Erick Hernández Sánchez

Ball handling

Havana

Coach: Douglas Hernández Sánchez

Athletes with disabilities

Most outstanding
Omara Durand Elías

Para-athletics

Santiago de Cuba

Coach: Miriam Ferrer Fernández

Best female
Omara Durand Elías

Para-athletics

Santiago de Cuba

Coach: Miriam Ferrer Fernández

Best male
Robiel Yanquiel Sol Cervantes

Para-athletics

Havana

Coach: Luis Alberto Bueno Chávez

Top 10

1. Leinier Savón Pineda

Para-athletics

Guantánamo

Coaches: Miriam Ferrer Fernández and Luis Alberto Bueno Chávez

2. Leonardo Díaz Aldana

Para-athletics

Granma

Coach: Raúl Antonio Barreiro Mayeta

3. Guillermo Varona González

Para-athletics

Holguín

Coach: Xiomara Rivero Azcuy

4. Ulicer Aguilera Cruz

Para-athletics

Camagüey

Coach: Xiomara Rivero Azcuy

5. Yordanis Fernández Sastre

Para-judo

Matanzas

Coach: Julio Julián Alderete Reyes

6. Yunier Fernández Izquierdo

Para table tennis

Artemisa

Coach: Rieldys Ortega Barrios

7. Geraldo Rodríguez Reyes

Para-judo

Artemisa

Coach: Senén Ramos Benítez

8. Lorenzo Pérez Escalona

Para-swimming

Granma

Coach: Ernesto Garrido Oliva

9. Leidy Rodríguez Rodríguez

Para-weightlifting

Granma

Coach: Ramón Martínez Martínez

10. Oníger Jesús Drake Vega

Para-weightlifting

Matanzas

Coach: Ramón Martínez Martínez

Special mention
Chess team

Coach: Rodney Oscar Pérez García