Eight athletes and one coach from Las Tunas are part of the Cuban delegation to the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, scheduled for August 9-23.

Las Tunas, Cuba.– Sprinters Reinaldo Espinosa Colas and Yander Luis Herrera Machín, supported by their strong performances in European athletics meetings, stand out among the sports youngsters from the Cuban Eastern Balcony, as well as international Claudia Tarín, a member of the Cuban volleyball team (f).

Among the Cuban representatives in the athletics events will also be Miriam Yanet López Machado. Luis Javier Sánchez Lozada and Elaimis García Ramos will compete in archery; Keiler Ávila Núñez, in rowing; and Sujailis Caridad Sardina Mendoza, in canoeing. Finally, Arnoy Rojas will travel to the Paraguayan capital as one of the coaches for the Cuban taekwondo team.

A total of 230 Cuban athletes will participate in the Asunción Junior Games, in 28 disciplines. Eighty-two percent of them come from high-performance sport centers, a figure higher than the 18 who participated in the first edition of Cali-Valle 2021, said José Antonio Miranda, director general of High Performance at the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER).

Asunción 2025 is the continent's premier multi-sport event for athletes aged from 12 to 22. In the first edition, held in Cali-Valle in 2021, Cuba finished fifth in the medal table with 29 gold, 19 silver, and 22 bronze, for a total of 70, behind Brazil, Colombia, the United States, and Mexico.

This year's edition will feature more than 4,200 athletes from 41 countries, who will compete in 28 sports and 42 disciplines at two venues in Asunción: the Olympic Park and the National Sports Secretariat, as well as sub-venues in Encarnación and Ypacaraí.

The games will grant 216 tickets to the Lima 2027 Pan American Games, 16 of them in team sports.