Two Cuban weightlifters leave delegation in Tepic before competing

Yeniuska Mirabal Feria and Yorelvis Machado Olivera left Cuba’s weightlifting delegation in Tepic, Mexico, before competing in the second Pan American qualifier for Lima 2027. Their departure reduced the Cuban group from six lifters to four at the October 4–8 tournament. Both were scheduled to compete but left before appearing.

All four Cuban athletes who competed won medals in Tepic. Marifélix Sarría earned two golds and one bronze; Ludia Montero won two silvers and a bronze; and Edisnel Corrales took three bronzes. Otto Oñate finished fourth in his division. Those results completed Cuba’s participation in the event, which awarded berths for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima.

Mirabal arrived with previous international results. She won two silver medals at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador and three titles at the Far East Cup in Russia in late 2024. She left Tepic before competing in the qualifying event in which she was entered.

Machado had also won regional medals, taking two bronzes at a competition in Santo Domingo in August. His departure with Mirabal left Cuba with four lifters in the Mexican qualifier. Neither athlete competed, so their scheduled appearances were not part of the team’s competitive results in Tepic.

The Pan American weightlifting calendar lists a third and final Lima 2027 qualifier in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from April 3 to 10, 2027. That event will be Cuba’s next opportunity to seek places in the discipline. Tepic was the second qualifying stage and included six Cuban lifters, four of whom completed their events.