Cuba at the 2020 Summer Olympics explained

Noc:	CUB
Nocname:	Cuban Olympic Committee
Games:	Summer Olympics
Year:	2020
Location:	Tokyo, Japan
Competitors:	70
Sports:	16
Flagbearer Open:	Yaime Pérez Mijaín López
Flagbearer Close:	Zurian Hechavarria
Rank:	14
Gold:	7
Silver:	3
Bronze:	5
Appearances:	auto

Cuba competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] The Cuban delegation was their smallest (and first with fewer than 100 athletes) since 1964, which coincidentally was also in Tokyo. It was the nation's twenty-first appearance at the Summer Olympics. Cuba improved on its 2016 result, by winning 7 gold and 15 total medals after 5 and 11 in Rio.

Medalists

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Medals by sport
Sport	bgcolor=#f7f6a8		bgcolor=#dce5e5		bgcolor=#ffdab9		Total
Athletics	0	1	2	3
Boxing	4	0	1	5
Canoeing	1	0	0	1
Judo	0	1	0	1
Shooting	0	1	0	1
Taekwondo	0	0	1	1
Wrestling	2	0	1	3
Total	7	3	5	15

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games:

width=150	Sport	width=55	Men	width=55	Women	width=55	Total
Athletics	7	13	20
Boxing	7	0	7
Canoeing	2	2	4
Cycling	0	1	1
Gymnastics	0	1	1
Judo	3	3	6
Modern pentathlon	1	1	2
Rowing	0	1	1
Shooting	3	2	5
Swimming	1	1	2
Table tennis	1	1	2
Taekwondo	1	0	1
Volleyball	0	2	2
Weightlifting	1	3	4
Wrestling	9	3	12
Total	36	34	70

Athletics

See main article: Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuban athletes further achieved the entry standards, either by qualifying time or by world ranking, in the following track and field events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):^{[2] [3]}

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Roxana Gómez	Women's 400 m	50.76 =PB	2 Q	49.71 PB	3 q
Rose Mary Almanza	Women's 800 m	2:00.71	1 Q	1:59.65	4	Did not advance
Zurian Hechavarría	Women's 400 m hurdles	54.99 PB	6 q	55.21	4	Did not advance
Rose Mary Almanza Sahily Diago Zurian Hechavarría Lisneidy Veitía	Women's 4 × 400 m relay	3:24.04 SB	2 Q	3:26.92	8

Field events

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Juan Miguel Echevarría	align=left rowspan=3	Long jump	8.50 SB	1 Q	8.41
Lester Lescay	7.69	25	Did not advance
Maykel Massó	8.07	7 Q	8.21
Andy Díaz	Triple jump			Did not advance
Cristian Nápoles		17.08 SB	4 Q	16.63	10
Luis Zayas	High jump	2.17	=26	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Leyanis Pérez	align=left rowspan=3	Triple jump			Did not advance
Liadagmis Povea	14.50	5 Q	14.70	5
Davisleydi Velazco	14.14	15	Did not advance
Yarisley Silva	Pole vault	4.55	=8 Q	4.50	=8
Denia Caballero	align=left rowspan=2	Discus throw	57.96	23	Did not advance
Yaime Pérez	63.18	7 q	65.72

Combined events – Women's heptathlon

Athlete	Event				200 m			800 m	Total	Rank
Yorgelis Rodríguez	style=font-size:95%	Result			—	—	—	—	—
style=font-size:95%	Points	0	0	—	—	—	—	—

Boxing

See main article: article, Boxing at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Boxing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuba entered seven male boxers to compete in each of the following weight classes into the Olympic tournament. With the cancellation of the 2021 Pan American Qualification Tournament in Buenos Aires, all of them, led by Rio 2016 gold medalists Arlen López (men's light heavyweight) and Julio César La Cruz (men's heavyweight), finished among the top five of their respective weight divisions to secure their places on the Cuban squad based on the IOC's Boxing Task Force Rankings for the Americas.^[4]

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Yosvany Veitía	Men's flyweight		W 5–0	L 1–4	Did not advance
Lázaro Álvarez	Men's featherweight		W	W 3–2	L 2–3	Did not advance
Andy Cruz	Men's lightweight		W 5–0	W 4–1	W 5–0	W 4–1
Roniel Iglesias	Men's welterweight		W 3–2	W 5–0	W 5–0	W 5–0
Arlen López	Men's light heavyweight		W 5–0	W 5–0	W 5–0	W 4–1
Julio César La Cruz	Men's heavyweight		W 5–0	W 4–1	W 4–1	W 5–0
Dainier Peró	Men's super heavyweight		W 5–0	L 1–4	Did not advance

Canoeing

See main article: Canoeing at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Canoeing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification.

Sprint

Cuban canoeists qualified two boats in each of the following distances for the Games through the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary.^[5] With the cancellation of the 2021 Pan American Championships, Cuba accepted the invitation from the International Canoe Federation to send a canoeist in the men's C-1 1000 m to the Games.^[6]

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Fernando Jorge	align=left rowspan=2	Men's C-1 1000 m	4:04.378	1 SF	4:04.725	4 FA	4:13.918	7
José Ramón Pelier	4:06.343	2 SF	4:09.696	6 FB	4:02.915	9
Fernando Jorge Serguey Torres	Men's C-2 1000 m	3:39.028	2 SF	3:27.102	2 FA	3:24.995
Yarisleidis Cirilo	align=left rowspan=2	Women's C-1 200 m	47.267	2 SF	48.375	6 FB	48.582	12
Katherin Nuevo	46.533	2 SF	49.242	8 FB	49.024	16
Yarisleidis Cirilo Katherin Nuevo	Women's C-2 500 m	2:03.229	3 QF	2:03.282	1 SF	2:03.655	2 FA	2:01.623	6

Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Cycling

See main article: Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification.

Road

Cuba entered one rider to compete in the women's Olympic road race, by virtue of her top 22 national finish (for women) in the UCI World Ranking.^[7]

Gymnastics

See main article: Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification.

Artistic

Cuba entered one artistic gymnast into the Olympic competition. Rio 2016 Olympian Marcia Videaux finished among the top twenty eligible for qualification in the women's individual all-around and apparatus events, respectively, to book her spot on the Cuban roster at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.^{[8] [9]}

Women

Judo

See main article: Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuba qualified six judoka (three per gender) for each of the following weight classes at the Games. Five of them, with three-time medalist Idalys Ortiz (women's heavyweight, +78 kg) leading the squad at her fourth straight Olympics, were selected among the top 18 judoka of their respective weight classes based on the IJF World Ranking List of June 28, 2021. Meanwhile, Rio 2016 Olympian Magdiel Estrada accepted a continental berth from the Americas as the nation's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position.^{[10] [11]}

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Final /
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Magdiel Estrada	Men's −73 kg		L 00–10	Did not advance
Iván Felipe Silva	Men's −90 kg		L 00–01	Did not advance
Andy Granda	Men's +100 kg		L 00–01	Did not advance
Maylín del Toro	Women's –63 kg		W 10–00	L 00–10	Did not advance
Kaliema Antomarchi	Women's –78 kg			W 01–00	L 01–11	Did not advance	W 10–00	L 00–01	5
Idalys Ortiz	Women's +78 kg			W 01–00	W 10–00	W 11–00		L 00–10

Modern pentathlon

See main article: Modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuban athletes qualified for the following spots to compete in modern pentathlon. Lester Ders and Rio 2016 Olympian Leydi Moya secured a selection each in the men's and women's event respectively by virtue of their top-five finish at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.^[12]

Athlete	Event	Fencing (épée one touch)				Swimming (200 m freestyle)			Riding (show jumping)			Combined: shooting/running (10 m air pistol)/(3200 m)			Total points	Final rank
				Rank	MP points	Time	Rank	MP points	Penalties	Rank	MP points	Time	Rank	MP points
Lester Ders	Men's	10–25	0	34	160	2:01.45	15	308		33	0	11:46.41	28	594	1062	36
Leydi Moya	Women's	15–20	1	26	191	2:17.96	29	275	9	15	291	13:16.65	30	504	1261	26

Rowing

See main article: Rowing at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Rowing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuba qualified one boat in the women's single sculls for the Games by finishing fourth in the A-final and securing the fourth of five berths available at the 2021 FISA Americas Olympic Qualification Regatta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[13]

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Shooting

See main article: Shooting at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Shooting at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuban shooters achieved quota places for the following events by virtue of their best finishes at the 2018 ISSF World Championships, the 2019 ISSF World Cup series, the 2019 Pan American Games, and Championships of the Americas, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by May 31, 2020.^[14]

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Semifinal		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Jorge Álvarez	Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol	578	12	Did not advance
Jorge Grau	Men's 10 m air pistol	574	19	Did not advance
Leuris Pupo	Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol	583	5 Q	29
align=left rowspan=2	Eglis Yaima Cruz	Women's 10 m air rifle	620.5	37	Did not advance
Women's 50 m rifle 3 positions	1163	23	Did not advance
align=left rowspan=2	Laina Pérez	Women's 10 m air pistol	567	32	Did not advance
Women's 25 m pistol	582	14	Did not advance
Jorge Grau Laina Pérez	10 m air pistol team	568	14	Did not advance

Swimming

See main article: article, Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuba received a universality invitation from FINA to send two top-ranked swimmers (one per gender) in their respective individual events to the Olympics, based on the FINA Points System of June 28, 2021.^[15]

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
align=left rowspan=2	Luis Vega Torres	Men's 200 m butterfly	1:59.00	31	Did not advance
Men's 400 m individual medley	4:27.65	29	Did not advance
Elisbet Gámez	Women's 200 m freestyle	2:00.56	23	Did not advance

Table tennis

See main article: Table tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Table tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuba entered two athletes into the table tennis competition at the Games. Daniela Fonseca scored a second-stage final triumph to notch the last ticket available in the women's singles and then teamed up with her partner and Rio 2016 Olympian Jorge Campos to seal an outright victory and a mixed doubles berth at the 2021 Latin American Qualification Tournament in Rosario, Argentina.^{[16] [17]}

Athlete	Event	Preliminary	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final /
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Daniela Fonseca	Women's singles	L 0–4	Did not advance
Jorge Campos Daniela Fonseca	Mixed doubles	L 0–4	Did not advance

Taekwondo

See main article: Taekwondo at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Taekwondo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuba entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Games. Rio 2016 Olympian and double world champion Rafael Alba secured a spot in the men's heavyweight category (+80 kg) with a top two finish at the 2020 Pan American Qualification Tournament in San José, Costa Rica.^[18]

Volleyball

See main article: Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Beach

Cuba women's beach volleyball team qualified for the Olympics by winning the gold medal at the 2018–2020 NORCECA Continental Cup Final in Colima, Mexico.^[19]

Weightlifting

See main article: Weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuba entered four weightlifters (one man and three women) into the Olympic competition. Rio 2016 Olympian Marina Rodríguez finished seventh of the eight highest-ranked weightlifters in the women's 64 kg category based on the IWF Absolute World Rankings, with rookies Olfides Sáez (men's 96 kg), Ludia Montero (women's 49 kg), and Eyurkenia Pileta (women's +87 kg) topping the field of weightlifters vying for qualification from the Americas in their respective weight categories based on the IWF Absolute Continental Rankings.^[20]

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Olfides Sáez	Men's –96 kg	156	11	203	7	359	9
Ludia Montero	Women's –49 kg	82	5	96	7	178	6
Marina Rodríguez	Women's –64 kg	98	11	123	6	221	8
Eyurkenia Pileta	Women's +87 kg	96	10	129	8	225	9

Wrestling

See main article: Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Cuba qualified twelve wrestlers for each of the following classes into the Olympic competition. Two of them finished among the top six to book Olympic spots in the men's Greco-Roman (67 and 130 kg) at the 2019 World Championships, while ten more licenses were awarded to Cuban wrestlers, who progressed to the top two finals at the 2020 Pan American Qualification Tournament in Ottawa, Canada.^{[21] [22]}

Freestyle

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage	Final /
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Alejandro Valdés	Men's −65 kg	L 1–3 ^PP	Did not advance				11
Geandry Garzón	Men's −74 kg	L 1–3 ^PP	Did not advance		L 0–4 ^ST	Did not advance	9
Reineris Salas	Men's −97 kg	W 3–1 ^PP	W 3–1 ^PP	L 0–3 ^PO		W 3–1 ^PP
Yusneylys Guzmán	Women's −50 kg	L 1–3 ^PP	Did not advance		L 0–5 ^VT	Did not advance	12
Laura Hérin	Women's −53 kg	L 1–3 ^PP	Did not advance		L 0–3 ^PP	Did not advance	15
Yudaris Sánchez	Women's −68 kg	L 1–3 ^PP	Did not advance				12

Greco-Roman

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage	Final /
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Luis Orta	Men's −60 kg	W 3–0 ^PO	W 3–1 ^PP	W 4–0 ^ST		W 3–1 ^PP
Ismael Borrero	Men's −67 kg	L 1–3 ^PP	Did not advance				11
Yosvanys Peña	Men's −77 kg	L 1–3 ^PP	Did not advance				10
Daniel Grégorich	Men's −87 kg	W 3–1 ^PP	L 0–5 ^VT	Did not advance			9
Gabriel Rosillo	Men's −97 kg	L 1–3 ^PP	Did not advance				13
Mijaín López	Men's −130 kg	W 4–0 ^ST	W 4–0 ^ST	W 3–0 ^PO		W 3–0 ^PO

See also

• Cuba at the 2019 Pan American Games

Notes and References

1. News: Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. 28 March 2020. Olympics. 24 March 2020.
2. Web site: iaaf.org – Top Lists. IAAF. 8 April 2019.
3. Web site: IAAF Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020 Entry Standards. IAAF. 8 April 2019. 8 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190408160334/https://cdn.dosb.de/user_upload/Olympische_Spiele/Tokio_2020/internationale_Qualifikationskriterien/IAAF_-_Athletics_20180806.pdf. dead.
4. News: Boxeo cubano irá a Tokio por cuatro títulos, afirma Julio César La Cruz. Cuban boxers aim for four titles in Tokyo according to Julio Cesár La Cruz. es. Radio Cadena Agramonte. 25 May 2021. 7 June 2021. 23 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210823142617/https://www.cadenagramonte.cu/articulos/ver/104332:boxeo-cubano-ira-a-tokio-por-cuatro-titulos-afirma-julio-cesar-la-cruz. dead.
5. News: First round of Olympic canoe sprint quotas allocated. International Canoe Federation. 30 August 2019. 30 August 2019.
6. News: Mexico to make Olympic slalom debut after quota allocations. International Canoe Federation. 30 April 2021. 9 May 2021.
7. News: Athletes' quotas for Road Cycling events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. UCI. 18 November 2019. 23 November 2019.
8. News: Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2019: Day 4 - as it happened. Olympic Channel. 7 October 2019. 12 October 2019.
9. News: Gimnastas cubanos clasifican para Tokio 2020. Cuban gymnasts qualified for Tokyo 2020. es. On Cuba News. 7 October 2019. 10 October 2019.
10. News: Nicolas. Messner. Tokyo 2020: Official Olympic Qualification List. International Judo Federation. 22 June 2021 . 2 July 2021.
11. News: Tokio 2020: Listo el camino para los judocas cubanos. Tokyo 2020: Cuban judoka are ready to compete. es. Cubadebate.cu. 22 July 2021. 22 July 2021.
12. News: Cubans make history in Lima 2019 modern pentathlon tournament. Cuban News Agency. 31 July 2019. 1 August 2019.
13. News: Americas Qualification Regatta Completed Ahead of Schedule. International Rowing Federation. 6 March 2021. 31 March 2021.
14. Web site: Quota Places by Nation and Number. 1 January 2018. www.issf-sports.org/. ISSF. 2 September 2018.
15. Web site: Tokyo Olympics Entry Lists Released, Swimming Begins July 24. Swimming World Magazine. 16 July 2021.
16. News: Unforgettable day for Alberto Miño, Gaston Alto and Daniela Fonseca Carrazana. ITTF. 17 April 2021. 18 April 2021.
17. News: Cuba celebrates as Jorge Campos and Daniela Fonseca Carrazana seal Tokyo qualification. ITTF. 18 April 2021. 26 April 2021.
18. News: Day 1 of Pan Am Olympic Qualification Tournament for Tokyo 2020 concludes in Costa Rica. World Taekwondo. 11 March 2020. 12 March 2020. 14 March 2020. https://archive.today/20200314090258/http://www.worldtaekwondo.org/six-countries-earn-quota-on-first-day-of-pan-am-qualification-tournament-for-tokyo-2020-olympic-games/. dead.
19. News: 27 June 2021. Argentina, China, Cuba And Kenya Take Olympic Berths. FIVB. 19 July 2021.
20. Web site: IWF Reallocated All Quotas of Member Federations with Multiple ADRVs. International Weightlifting Federation. 6 July 2021. 20 July 2021.
21. News: Ken. Marantz. Olympic Champ Borrero Survives ‘Bracket of Death’ to Make 67kg Semis, Secure Tokyo 2020 Spot. 15 September 2019. 15 September 2019. United World Wrestling.
22. News: Grégorio, Taylor. Cuba Qualifies All Categories in Greco-Roman Style for the Olympic Games. United World Wrestling. 14 March 2020. 14 March 2020.