Cuban sport could not achieve great achievements in 2020 due to limited international participation because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although it had flashes in wrestling and baseball, and the Olympic preparation continued.
At the beginning of the year, the gladiators secured 10 tickets for Tokyo at the Pre-Olympic in Ottawa, Canada, the island raised to 12 its qualified in the centennial sport, two more than in Rio 2016.
The 130 kg division, Greek style, has already guaranteed its quota, where Mijaín López will seek in the Japanese capital the feat of obtaining his fourth title, which would make him the most successful fighter in the Olympic history.
Cuba closed the year with 41 classified for Tokyo 2020 in 11 sports, with a greater presence in athletics 14, wrestling 12, shooting 5 and canoeing 4.
In the midst of the confrontation with COVID-19, almost the entire competition calendar was canceled, the athletes prepared at home. And in sports like taekwondo, chess, weights, and in races like Marabana they competed virtually.
Those committed, with an Olympic appointment, concentrated in training bases in provinces where the effects of the pandemic were minimal and since September around a hundred have concentrated in the main high-performance centers of the country with their eyes on Tokyo.
Baseball continued to bet on transfers in foreign leagues, which expanded in Japan and spread to some leagues in the Caribbean.
Several players even interrupted their presence in the Cuban National Series, the only national championship held due to COVID-19 restrictions, by signing contracts in the professional leagues of Mexico, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The biggest applause went to those signed in the main league in Japan, Moinelo signed his best campaign, being a leader in Hold Points and finished with notable figures in strikeouts per inning and ERA, which led him to dispute the More Valuable Player award.
Other standouts in Japan were: Raidel Martínez, Dayán Viciedo, winner of the Gold Glove, and outfielder Leonys Martin, fourth in home runs, with 25.
In the South Korean Professional League, José Miguel Fernández took the lead in hits, and was among the first in average, while in Mexico, Erisbel Arruebarruena had a fleeting appearance because of his decimated health, although he excelled with 10 home runs in 29 games and average of 333.
Volleyball took another step in recruiting figures. Some 20 players were inserted in foreign leagues with the endorsement of the Cuban Federation, this time some very prestigious ones from Europe such as those from Italy and France, while the talented Miguel Ángel López was signed by the famous Sada Cruzeiro from Brazil.
As part of the strategy for the development of Cuban sport, the Cuban Football Association included in its registry five soccer players residing abroad, including Onel Hernández and Marcel Hernández, following in the footsteps of disciplines such as volleyball, baseball and the Handball.
Jasiel Rivero stood out with San Pablo Burgos in basketball in Spain, where he made history by reaching the semifinals in the ACB League and took the title in the Champions League, the second highest level tournament of that sport in Europe after the Euroleague.
At the end of the year, elite matches were held in boxing, wrestling and judo, essential sports for Tokyo, and the National Baseball Series, the only national contest that was held, has developed without major setbacks with special sanitary measures and without an audience.
However, it was impossible to avoid the scourge of COVID-19, and more than three months after its launch, more than a dozen positives were detected in the Industriales team.
Parity has characterized the series, in which 8 of the 16 teams advance to the playoffs, and in the individual order, young people like César Prieto and veterans like Frederich Cepeda have stood out.
Prieto, 21, from Cienfuegos, is the sensation of the tournament, smashing the records for the most consecutive games hitting a hit. He also leads in offensive average, 406 and doubles, 21.
Taking advantage of the break due to COVID-19, the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) rescued several sports facilities throughout the year throughout the year.
