Cuba Sends Huge Delegation To Olympics

Despite not having a robust economy and not having a sports program and technology comparable to the U.S. or Australia, Cuba reportedly will be sending a huge athlete delegation to Beijing China in August. Cuba now has 127 athletes qualified for the Olympic Games slated for August 8 to 24 in China's capital Beijing, following cyclist Yoanka Gonzalez's Saturday qualification, the Sunday edition of Cuba's Juventud Rebelde newspaper said. Gonzalez won the berth during Manchester's cycling World Cup against the wind and against the odds, as many critics had said she was not on top form. Another Cuban, Lisandra Guerra, had also won an Olympic ticket thanks to a seventh place in the Cup's speed trials. The Cuban Olympic Committee is targeting a total of 150 Olympic places.

The following 15 sports have already earned their Olympics tickets: athletics with 34 athletes, baseball with 24 sportsmen, women's volleyball with 12 competitors, wrestling with 10, rowing with nine, boxing with nine, weightlifting with six, diving with five, judo with five, cycling with five, sports shooting with three, Taekwondo with three, canoing with two and one each for archery and pentathlon.

Cuban competitors still have a chance to win more places in the following events: women's basketball, table tennis, boxing, judo and fencing.

Check out my previous post about Cuba:
1. Fidel Castro prevents Cuban boxers in participating at 2007 AIBA championships.