Tokyo, like other Olympic venues, will have a long list of “non-native” Olympians in the countries they represent.
Athletics is perhaps the sport that will see the most recurrent presence of these athletes.
In this map of new sports nationalities that involves a large number of nations, a recent analysis reveals that 22 Cuban athletes are part of delegations from 10 countries in the current Olympic Games.
The vast majority of this group is made up of athletes who belonged to the island’s state sports system, several of whom left sports delegations while competing abroad.
At the same time, Cuba’s official expedition, arriving from Havana to Tokyo, is the smallest that the Caribbean nation has presented since the Mexico - 68 Games.
Its roster is made up of 69 athletes in 64 events with the pretension of placing among the top 20 countries in the final medal table, a forecast that not many doubt, considering that the sport in that country is facing a significant decline.
The Cuban “foreign legion” has arrived in Tokyo under the following flags, according to the “Cubalite” website:
Azerbaijan: Lorenberto Alfonso (Boxing) and Lorenzo Sotomayor (Boxing). Brazil: Yoandy Leal (Volleyball) Chile: Yasmani Acosta (Greco-Roman Wrestling) and Arley Mendez (Weightlifting) Spain: Orlando Ortega (Athletics), Enmanuel Reyes (Boxing) and Lois Maikel Martinez (Athletics). Dominican Republic : Raúl Valdés (Baseball). United States: Yarisel Ramírez (Boxing), Ariel Torres (Karate) and Yeisser Ramírez (Fencing).
Italy: Osmany Juantorena (Volleyball), Frank Chamizo (Wrestling), Abraham Conyedo (Wrestling) and Yadisleidis Pedroso (Athletics). Poland: Wilfredo León (Volleyball). Portugal: Daymaro Salina (Handball), Víctor Iturriza (Handball), Alexis Borges (Handball), Pedro Pablo Pichardo (Athletics) Turkey: Yasmani Copello (Athletics).
Six of them were already at the Rio Games five years ago. Sotomayor was Olympic runner-up. He already stepped into the ring in Tokyo and lost in his first appearance to Georgia welterweight Eskerkhan Madiev by RSC.
Ortega was Olympic silver medalist in 2016 in the 110 meters hurdles, as was Juantorena. Chamizo won Olympic bronze.
In the cases of Yarisel Ramirez and Ariel Torres, they came to the United States as children with their parents. Ramirez, despite losing in her debut on July 25, in the Olympic boxing tournament, has made history as the first Cuban boxer in an Olympic event.
About a dozen athletes of Cuban descent are part of the U.S. Olympic delegation of 613 athletes.
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