HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 4. Cuba will participate with complete teams —in both sexes— in the judo tournament of the upcoming Pan American Games of Guadalajara, Mexico, next October.

The Caribbean judokas secured their presence in Guadalajara with an outstanding performance in the Pan American Judo Championship that concluded on Sunday precisely in that Mexican city.

In the individual competition, Cuba topped the standings with eight crowns, two silver and three bronze medals (5-1-1 in women’s and 3-1-2 in men’s).

In the women’s event, the titles were for Yanet Bermoy (52 kg), Yurisleidis Lupetey (57), Onix Cortés (70) Yaritza Abel (70) and Idalis Ortiz (+78), while, in men’s, the gold medalists were Asley González (90), Oreidis Despaigne (100) and Oscar Braison (+100).

The list of Cuban medalists was completed by Dayaris Mestre (women’s 48 kg) and Ronald Girones (men’s 73 kg), both with silver, and Yalennis Castillos (women’s 78), Ángelo Gómez (men’s 66) and Antonio Betancourt (men’s 60), all bronze medalists.

Brazil (4-5-5) and the United States (1-1-3) placed second and third, respectively.

In the team contest, Brazil dominated in both sexes. In women’s, the
South Americans were followed by Cuba and the United States, while in men’s the Americans took the second spot and the Cubans, the third. (acn)