The impressive record for the most hits in the history of Cuban baseball, recently achieved by Dánel Castro, was chosen as the Event of the Year for the sports in Las Tunas, which rewarded the pentathletes Diana Leyva and Marcos Antonio Rojas in individual sports, and the softball players Rosángela Jardines and Héctor Castillo in collective disciplines.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The feat achieved by Dánel at 46 years of age also earned him the absolute distinction of the Best Athlete of 2022 in the province, being significant the moment when he achieved it, with a couple of home runs (one inside the field), equaling and spectacularly surpassing the 2,378 hits by Enrique Díaz, from the Havana. The new record, which already exceeds 2,400 hits, is the perfect culmination of a 28-season career that could continue if, finally, he decides to play the 62nd National Series.
The year that is ending also marked the definitive takeoff of the pentathlete couple made up of Diana Leyva and Marcos Antonio Rojas, deserving of the special prize in Non-Individual Event, but with enough merits to be recognized each as main exponents of the present and the future of sports at the Balcón de Oriente (Cuban Eastern Balcony). Diana, with several medals in the NORCECA tournament held in Santo Domingo the previous summer, where secured her tickets to the Central American Games in El Salvador and the Pan American Games in Chile, next 2023.
 Pentathletes from Las Tunas "flying high." |
Marcos Antonio, for his part, consolidated himself as the first figure in the country by winning in the capital of Quisqueya, adding a bronze for groups in the Pan American in Resende, Brazil, and also obtaining his tickets to San Salvador and Santiago de Chile.
In team sports, softball took top honors through Rosángela and Castillo. The starting receiver of the national team, who plays with Parma in Serie A, in Italy, had great offensive performances in the European Winners' Cup and was a key player in the third position and the World Cup qualification won by Cuba in the Pan-American tournament, in Ciudad Guatemala.
Castillo, meanwhile, was crowned champion of Cuba with the team of Ciego de Ávila, in a tournament in which he was the leader in hits, scored runs, and doubles. With that work, he earned the right to attend his second consecutive World Cup, this time in Auckland, New Zealand, where Cuba achieved a very good fifth place.
The selection of the best of the sports from Las Tunas in the current calendar rewarded baseball as a Best Collective Sport and the group of the U-23 category, directed by Osmani Urrutia and national bronze medalist, as Team of the Year.
Besides, the work done by shooting received recognition. The award for Best Individual Sport was added to the title of Rookie of the Year for the gun shooter Adianet López; as well as that of Best Coach for José Raúl Ventura, the main architect of the first places achieved in the Youth and School categories, in addition to promoting several athletes to the national pre-selections.
In the category of Best Athlete Hired Abroad, the distinction went to volleyball player Claudia Tarín, a member of the senior national team and currently enrolled with UTE-Volley, in the Hungarian League.
The list of the 10 athletes who complete the most outstanding of 2022 includes the triathlete Niuska Figueredo, the chess player Michel Alejandro Díaz, the fencer Aniel Sotolongo and the goalkeeper Juan José Santiesteban; as well as volleyball player Lianny Tamayo, soccer player Sandy Sánchez, and the baseball players Carlos Rafael Rodríguez, Alejandro Meneses, Yuniesky Larduet, and Yordanis Alarcón.
 Baseball player Carlos Rafael Rodríguez was selected among the ten-best athletes |
Zaidami Márquez (cycling) and Erlis William Larrudet (athletics) were the para-athletes with the best performance, as did the referee Carlos Rafael Rodríguez (beach volleyball), Physical Education teacher Elier González (special education/"Colombia"), and the activist Dilsa Rodríguez (Las Tunas).
The improvement of the judoka Aleanny Carbonell, already included in the senior national team and with participation in Grand Slam tournaments, deserved her distinction among the ladies in the Junior category. Sprinter Reinaldo Espinosa, a finalist in the 100-meter dash at the Junior World Championships, accompanied Carbonell.
Among the schoolchildren, the taekwondoka Yohana Hernández, Cuban champion, stood out, along with baseball player Dánel Reyes, runner-up and best reliever of the U-15 World Cup, held in Mexico.
Although they did not enter the award list, 26 recognizes the performances over the last 12 months by athletes of the stature of baseball players Rafael Viñales, Andrés de la Cruz, and Yosvani Alarcón; as well as weightlifter Yaneisy Mariño, and sports such as swimming and archery.
