Cuba will be represented for the first time in the final of a World Championship of artistic swimming, thanks to the performance this Friday of the couple made up of Andy Manuel Ávila and Soila Carelys Valdés, who made sure they were among the best in the free routine for mixed duos, at the universal event held in Budapest, Hungary.
The couple from the Island accumulated 64.5333 points with their presentation and advanced to twelfth place in a classification for 13 contestant duets, which was dominated by the Italian duo of Giorgio Minsini and Lucrezia Ruggeiro (90.5000), in accordance with the website Hit.
This is an unprecedented performance, since it is the first time that competitors from the Island have accessed a final of this range in any of the modalities usually convened in the world events, the publication specifies.
Andy Manuel Ávila and Soila Carelys Valdés will be in contention for the medals in the mixed duet free routine. #Cuba #Swimming https://t.co/YUkGOCdyNO
— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) June 24, 2022
The media reminds that Cuba has been one of the last nations to incorporate male participation in this sport, and that this presentation marks its debut in a world event and serves as a starting point for incursions during the current cycle in Central Caribbean and continental competitions.
“We have to highlight the note of artistic impression. The boys enjoyed their choreography and that’s what we’re looking for. It was not something feigned or a mechanical reproduction, ”she told Hit from the headquarters, coach Kenia Font about the 25,7333 units that her pupils received in that section.
Evaluations in artistic swimming are made up of the sum of three components, the aforementioned artistic impression, execution and difficulty. In these last two, the Cubans deserved 18,600 and 20,200, in that order, he points out. Hit.
In the preliminaries of the technical routine, the Caribbean couple had completed 62.6229 units, note that it responded to what was expected in the case of a choreography with mandatory technical elements that makes it more complex for its execution.
The mixed couple modality was the last to appear in the programs of this sport and this is the second time that it distributes prizes in world competitions.
Before the presentation of Soila and Andy, Gabriela Alpajón had already ventured into the Hungarian capital for Cuba as a soloist and in the female duet accompanied by Stephany Urbina, always ranked behind the top 20 in each specialty.
