Cuba Takes Two Athletes to World Universiade

Cuba Takes Two Athletes to World Universiade

China, Taipei,Aug 18 – Cuban runners Yoandys Lescay and Rose Mary Almanza will be the representation of Cuba in the 29th World Universiade in Chinese Taipei, from August 19 to 30, with competitive action in 21 sports.

Lescay, competing in the 400 flat meters, and Almanza in the 800 flat meters, will be the only Cuban representatives in the 29th World Universiad, a competition that will count on the presence of 11,400 competitors from 131 countries of the planet.

A 23-year-old and 45-second personal record, Lescay closed the 4 x400 Cuban men’s relay that ended in sixth place at the World Championships in London.

‘In Chinese Taipei, I will go for what I could not accomplish in London’, said Lescay to a radio station.

An Ibero-American Champion last year in Rio de Janeiro and a semifinalist in singles in London, Lescay will compete in Chinese Taipei.
For her part, Almanza, 25, and with personal record of 1:57.70 minutes, was at the doors of classifying for the finals in London, in the 800 flat meters, obtaining a record of 1:59.79.

Both runners have their debut for August 23rd, in the preliminaries.

The Universiade, bringing together the college athletes from around the world, are carried out every two years and the summer competitions began in 1959 in Turin, Italy. The latest took place in Gwangju, Korea South, in 2015.

In the history of the Universiades, Cuba crowned Alberto Juantorena (1:43.44 minutes in the 800 flat metres) and Alejandro Casañas (13.21 seconds, in the 110 hurdle meters), both with world records for the event in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1977, and became universiad champions.(PL)