Yarisleidis Cirilo and Katherin Nuevo win gold medal in World Canoe Sprint Championship

August 7, 2022

Yarisleidis Cirilo and Katherin Nuevo won the title for Cuba this Saturday in the C2-200 meters during the penultimate round of the World Canoe Sprint Championship, in Halifax, hosted by Canada.

At Banook Lake, Cirilo and Nuevo crossed the finish line in 45.09 seconds, leaving behind the Chinese Shuai Changwen and Lin Wenjun (45.24) and the Hungarians Bianka Nagy and Giada Bragato (47.59).

Fourth through ninth place finishers were boats from Germany, Canada, Moldova, United States, Poland, and Chile.

That result vindicated the Caribbean athletes, who finished in last place among nine canoes in the C2-500 meters.

The podium in that event was topped by the Chinese Mengya Sun and Shixiao Xu (2:01.26 minutes), the Ukrainians Anastasiia Chetverikova and Liudmyla Luzan (2:03.32), and the Hungarian Nagy and Bragato (2:04.70).

The Cuban women were considered favorites to compete for medals, but they completed that distance in 2:09.71 minutes.

The comeback by Cirilo and Nuevo says much about the drive and determination of Nelson Perales' students.

This Saturday, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Serguei Torres and his new partner in the two-person boat, Tabiani Diéguez finished fifth in the B final of the C2-500 meters.

They were surpassed by the Moldovan brothers Oleg and Serghei Tarnovschi (1:53.81), the Brazilians Erlon Silva and Filipe Vieira (1:54.32), the Canadians Alix Plomteux and Tyler Laidlaw (1:54.76), and the Czechs Antonin Hrabal and Jiri Zalubil (1:56.82).

This Sunday, at the close of the championship, Cirilo will return to the water in the C1-200 meters and in the C1-5000, José Ramón Pelier in the C1-1000, and Serguey will paddle solo in 5000 meters, all in A finals.