Beyond the good news, the excellent juvenile performance raised interest in the current actors, the category’s history and other details that allow us to better understand this accomplishment.

The Under-20 championships were first held in 1980, in Sudbury, Canada. The competition was established as a biennial event, making the most recent the 17th edition.

Cuba arrived in Medellín with a previous average of 7.75 gold medals, 23.2 participants in 12 events per tournament. Thus, as can be noted, this year’s eight titles were consistent with previous performances, somewhat better in fact. The team’s results did show qualitative improvement and a greater number of athletes participated, putting the brakes on dangerous precedents, including the decision not to participate in 2011.

The chart below reveals how Cuba’s athletic ‘special period’ – the period of economic hardship experienced following the collapse of the Soviet Union – did not appear in the 1990’s, but rather a decade later. The new century opened with limited participation, though with carefully selected athletes. Thus in 2003, seven athletes, competing in more than one event with excellent results, won seven gold medals, plus several silver and bronze. In 2009, Cuba’s six participants all won gold medals.

With this strategy, Cuba has maintained its position as second in the medal count by country, falling to fifth only once, in 2007. Despite its four absences, Cuba has the second highest total overall.

In Medellín, in addition to the usual, always significant second place among countries, the team of 16 won eight gold medals. The total could have been 10, but Sahily Diago was disqualified for obstruction after winning the 800 meters and Yoandys Lescay – just returned from Moscow - let the 400 meters get away, losing by one hundredth of a second.

Only one jumper on the team, in addition to Sahily, came away without placing.

There were 17 finalists (thanks to three athletes competing in two events) who contributed a total of 102 points, the second highest since 2001, only surpassed by the 15 athletes who won 103 in 2005.

The two totals are listed as fifth in the point ranking maintained by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which does not reflect Cuba’s real potential in this age group, given the vast pool of young talent participating in school programs. The country should place second, as it does when full teams are sent to compete.

I imagine that the Colombian host team is thrilled with its fourth place ranking (63 athletes, 43 finalists, 151 points) ahead of Cuba (resigned to seventh in gold medals). The United States was number one overall (78 athletes, 65 finalists, 380 points), followed by Canada (48, 52, 236) and Brazil (33, 29, 153.5).

Those who may be surprised by Jamaica’s absence among the leaders (ranked 10th in points and 12th in the medal count) should know that many promising athletes from the country decided not to participate after the scheduled date, originally in April, was changed to July-August, stating that the change disrupted their training plans.

Cuba’s gold medals in running were no doubt a reflection of the thin competition in these events, with the absence of Jamaicans and other Caribbeans who were racing with adults in Europe (and did not return as Lescay did). However, many others were there, including a large number from the United States, always dominant with 19 of the 32 gold medals in the men’s 100 and 200 meters, plus 16 of the women’s.

The winners, of course, deserve recognition regardless and Arialis Gandulla was convincing, outdistancing several rivals with better times in two different races. Who’s to say she couldn’t have defeated anyone that day?

Reynier Mena pulled out all the stops in the 200 meters, after falling behind in the 100m. Three victories, three personal records at Medellin, 1,500 meters above sea level. It should be clarified that Arialis’ time of 11.32 is not valid given the wind in her favor, though her 11.48 in the semifinals stands.

Liliana Allen won the same two medals in 1989, while Roberto Hernández (1986) and Alianni Echevarria (2001) won the 200 meters, so these were not new accomplishments for the country, but were a long time coming, and are therefore, encouraging.

These performances oblige the country’s sports leadership to ensure follow-up to direct and develop this potential. We should be motivated to continue the discovery process to locate new talent in our system of broad participation. And our perseverance must be recovered, since lately, throughout athletics we are losing more competitors over the course of their careers than before.

Among the 33 juvenile champions and 93 medalists through 1997 – without saying that all was well at that time – more Olympic and World champions emerged than can be mentioned. Among the most outstanding were Javier Sotomayor, Iván Pedroso, Anier García, Yoelbi Quesada, Roberto Hernández, Norberto Téllez, Ioamnet Quintero, Maritza Martén, Yumileidi Cumbá, Osleydis Menéndez, Yipsi Moreno, Daimí Pernía…

Of the 44 medalists 2001-2009 (27 champions), those who went on to make their mark include only Dayron Robles, Yoandri Betanzos, Arnie David Girat, Ibrahim Camejo and Mabel Gay. Of course not all Cuban athletes participate in the juvenile Pan Americans, but the difference between the two periods is notable.

Another comparison merits analysis: From 1980 through 2009, Cuba overcame the U.S. to win 93 juvenile gold medals. These athletes went on to win 19 world titles as adults (1983-2011), that is 20%. The United States has duplicated this equation with a rate of 41.7% - 132 of 316.

In the juvenile categories, the coaching staff must avoid skipping stages and compromising an athlete’s future, while the country’s leadership must make broader participation in international competition a priority.