• PARAPAN AMERICAN GAMES
Cuba finishes fourth in the medal count
November 24.11
GUADALAJARA.— Cuban judoka Víctor Luis Sánchez added a gold medal to his country's total, allowing Cuba to finish fourth in the 4th Parapan American Games, which ended with another colorful ceremony in this Mexican city's Telmex stadium.

• 25th Anniversary race
Marabana, more popular every year
November 24.11
THIS year was the Marathon's 25th anniversary and the celebration surely couldn't have been less joyful than previous years. Marabana, a party for Cuban and visiting runners once again became the center of attention in the world of long-distance races which test the human body and make the struggle against fatigue a constant challenge.

• CUBA AT THE PARAPAN AMERICAN GAMES
Lorenzo Pérez swims against the current
November 17.11
GUADALAJARA.—After swimming in a round with just three participants without recognized times, Lorenzo Pérez won the S6 400-meter freestyle (timed final) with 5:40.47, leaving the silver and bronze to favorites Daniel Londoño (Colombia-5:40.85) and the seven-time gold medal winner in Rio de Janeiro ’07, Adriano da Lima (Brazil-5:51.71).

• SECOND GUADALAJARA EVENT
Another Pan American celebration
November 10.11
WITHOUT much rest, with the emotions experienced during the Pan American Games still fresh, the Mexican city of Guadalajara welcomes the Para Pan American Games, November 12-20.

• CUBA, 40 YEARS SECOND PLACE IN AMERICA
Rising to the challenge
November 3.11
IT was a hard struggle in every aspect of the Pan American Games, one in which all Cubans felt proud of the constant defense of the ideas which our athletes represented in every aspect, the honor with which they did so, and their dignity in competing, respecting their rivals and giving the best of themselves in regaling the Americas with the greatest of the Cuban sports movement.

• Yes, we can!
October 27.11
GUADALAJARA.— Cuba was well aware that the first segment of the 16th Pan American Games, given the programming, would not favor Cuban sports in its efforts to capture a second place finish in the medal count, which it has historically won.

• Holland was better – on two occasions
October 20.11
FOR the third consecutive time, Cuba lost the decisive game in World Cup competition and, for the second time in this tournament, fell to the same team twice – two years ago it was the United States and, this year, Holland.

• BASEBALL WORLD CUP
Cuba opens winning
October 6.11
THE Cuban team competing in the Baseball World Cup, being held in Panama, won its first two games, defeating Australia 14-0 and the Dominican Republic 3-0.

• Bruzón leads in Jardines del Rey
September 22.11
CUBAN Grand Master Lázaro Bruzón won the first tournament of the meet taking place in Jardines del Rey, the string of cays along the northern coast of Ciego de Avila province, an event in which several of the island's most prominent chess players are participating.

• Cuba hopes to conquer Baseball World Cup
September 22.11
THE team representing Cuba in the Baseball World Cup competition, beginning in Panama October 1, won a friendly practice game with the host country September 26, with a score of 14 runs to three.

• Cuba sweeps Puerto Rico in series of practice games
September 22.11
CUBA'S national pre-selection team defeated Puerto Rico 13 -0 and completed a sweep in the five game series of friendly competition, held to prepare for the upcoming 2011 World Cup in Panama.

• YARELIS BARRIOS
Diamond league winner
September 22.11
AN old saying reminds us that a drop of water can bore through a stone because of its perseverance, not its strength, and Yarelis Barrios must agree. Armed with unlimited tenacity, even more competitive in crucial moments, she has established herself perhaps not as the world's undisputed best discus thrower among women, but as a regular presence on the podium.

• 51st NATIONAL SERIES
New coach, new life?
September 15.11
CHANGING coaches is a common practice in team sports, especially when things aren't going well. If such a renovation takes place, we often find ourselves thinking, "another year, another chance."

• Dayron wins at Diamond League event
September 15.11
SOLID, clean on the hurdles, powerful at the end and unmatchable from the stretch, Dayron showed himself as the Olympic champion and world record holder he is in the 110-meter hurdles (12.87).

• Caribbean celebration in Daegu
September 8.11
INCREDIBLE was Jamaica's time of 37.04 in the short relay, yet only the phenomenal Usain Bolt came away with the satisfaction of having set a new world record in the Daegu 13th World Athletics Championship, where, in fact, Jamaica embodied the hopes of Latin America and the Caribbean, winning four gold medals, four silver and one bronze.

• 13TH WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIP
Cuba stands tall among the world's best
September 1.11
DESPITE the 12 hour difference in time, this spectator-reporter was alert to every accomplishment achieved by the Cuban athletes participating in the 13th World Athletics Championship in the South Korean city of Daegu, a track and field Mecca.

• WOMEN'S SOFTBALL
In search of an elusive medal
August 25.11
IN hopes of regaining an elusive spot on the medal podium in the Pan American Games, the preliminary women's softball team has been training for the Guadalajara event (October 14-30) at the Giraldo Córdova Cardín High Performance Athletes Advanced Training Center, east of Havana.

• Judo World Championship in Paris
Cuba’s rising star
August 18.11
ASLEY González is the hidden gem of Cuba’s judo team headed to the Paris World Championship, to be held in the Bercy OmniSports Center, August 23-28.

• Diana Nyad couldn’t do it this time
August 11.11
The 61-year-old U.S. long distance swimmer Diana Nyad was forced August 9 to end her attempt to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.

• World class Cuban athletes on their way to Daegu
August 11.11
Yargelis Savigne, two time world champion in the triple jump and aspiring to a third title, along with Dayron Robles, the Olympic medalist who holds the world record in the 110-meter hurdles, will lead the Cuban team to the World Athletics Championship August 27 through September 4, in Daegu, South Korea.

• WOMEN’S CARIBBEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Cuba undefeated
August 11.11
WINNING classification for Centrobasket 2012 and the opportunity to compete in the next round of FIBA tournaments, the Cuban women’s basketball team, undefeated in five games, took the Caribbean championship held in the neighboring island country of the Bahamas. Cuba defeated the host team 85-54 in the final game.

• ALBA athletes get ready for Guadalajara
August 4.11
BARQUISIMETO.— The 4th ALBA Games, culminating in this city, were nothing less than a great sports and solidarity celebration in which athletes from 25 Latin American and Caribbean countries fraternized.

• COPA AMERICA FOOTBALL COMPETITION
Modesty, courage and pragmatism: the keys of a team with everything
July 28.11
URUGUAY is champion of the Copa América because the team understood better than all its rivals the idea of collective play, made a gala of sacrifices and took advantage of the talent of its figures. A merited achievement for Oscar Tabárez’ players.

• More than 2,000 athletes from 23 countries in ALBA Games
July 21.11
THE 4th ALBA Games, inspired by the integration of the peoples of Our America, are taking place in Barquisimeto, in the Venezuelan state of Lara, with the participation of 2,000-plus athletes from 23 countries.

• Russia wins after a nine-year wait
July 15.11
AFTER a nine-year wait, the Russian team once again won the World Volleyball League tournament and, in order to do so, dispatched none other than the winningest team in the league’s history, Brazil, which boasts 15 medals, nine of them gold.

• Dayron wins essential duel
July 15.11
DAYRON Robles wants his jewel, too, and on June 8 he took an important step in his efforts to defeat David Oliver from the United States, the 110-meter hurdles specialist with the best times over the last two years, in a spectacularly close final which required a photo finish, since the clock registered 13.09 for both in the giant Stade de France in Paris.

• ALBA Games will strengthen integration
July 15.11
CARACAS.— The 4th ALBA Games, scheduled for July 17-30 in Venezuela, are a means of promoting the unity of Latin American peoples, according to the country’s Minister of Sports, Héctor Rodríguez.

• WORLD VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE
Cuba in the Polish final, looking for a big upset
July 7.11
The Cuban team has accomplished what for many was nearly impossible - first, early on in World League play and later in this preliminary final – defeating one of the most successful volleyball teams worldwide, Italy.

• Cuban soccer: from caterpillars to butterflies
June 30.11
THE worst thing in life is inertia. Almost 12 months ago, on July 19, 2010, a few days after the end of the Football World Cup in South Africa, I wrote in Granma daily:

• FINAL WEEKEND OF THE WORLD VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE
Cuba needs to defeat Italy once
June 30.11
CUBA won three points in the second game against France, thus ending the fifth weekend of the World Volleyball League with a total of 20 points, which places the home team in best second place in the tournament and, of course, with just one more weekend to complete the preliminary round in an advantageous position to classify for the final phase.

• And then there was light!
June 23.11
FOR the 51st National Baseball Series, the Latinoamericano (Latin American) Stadium is to have a new lighting system in line with the highest requirements, thanks to a joint effort by a number of enterprises and the unflagging efforts of workers and specialists.

• Cuba defeats France twice, but remains third in Group D
June 16.11
CUBA lost two important advantages in the first set of the second game against France, because the team failed at key points in reception and, having lost the set, saw the frustration of its aspirations to defeat France, win three points and move up to second place in Group D of the 2011 World Volleyball League.

• Cerro Pelado, same prow, same compass
June 16.11
"CERRO Pelado, your entry into the territorial waters of the United States or San Juan, or any Puerto Rican port, is forbidden, I repeat, forbidden. You are informed that the boat’s entry will result in it being seized. These territorial waters extend to three nautical miles from the coast."

• Back and going strong
June 9.11
THERE are events that can trip up those who have little memory and especially those who are indifferent, unconcerned about history. It’s worth reminding them that almost 20 years ago Ángel Eduardo García established the Cuban pole vaulting record at 5.65 meters.

• WORLD VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE
Cuba didn’t win, but is convincing
June 9.11
ALTHOUGH Cuba’s team reached a higher level of play during the second weekend of the 2011 World Volleyball League tour, the young men could not advance beyond their third place spot in Group B of the tournament, behind Italy in first place and South Korea, second.

• Cuba tripped and fell facing South Korea, but is back up
June 2.11
In their South Korean debut in the World Volleyball League, the Cuban team was looking for six points, but came away with only three, falling in their opening bout 0-3, for which they were awarded not a single point . They won their second outing 3-1, to collect at least half of what they had hoped for.

• Cuban judokas win World Cup
May 18.11
THE Cuban men’s judo selection, winner of the World Cup team competition, which ended in the Brazilian city of Salvador de Bahia, has returned to the island after defeating Japan 3-2.

• Cuban Volleyball team off to Bulgaria looking to the World League
May 18.11
Cuba's men's volleyball team has departed for Bulgaria to complete their final preparations for the 22nd World League tournament, to be held May 27 through July 10, ending in the Polish city of Gdansk.

• Baseball title returns to Pinar del Río and Urquiola
May 12.11
IT has been 13 seasons since Pinar del Río has won Cuba's national baseball title – a well deserved victory for a team which has as a distinguishing feature its youth.

• How goes Cuban athletics?
May 5.11
Accustomed to rewarding their fans generously, Cuban track and field athletes are ready to listen for the starting shot, keeping their eyes on the finish line, setting goals. And when you are at the elite level, your aspirations are necessarily great.

• 5th FINA Diving World Series
Bronze medal boosts confidence
April 28.11
The bronze medal won by Cuban synchronized platform diving partners José Antonio Guerra and Jeinkler Aguirre (433.71 points) on the final day of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) Diving World Series, held in the Mexican city of...

• Eglys and Pupo to ISFF World Cup at Fort Benning
April 28.11
CUBAN shooters Eglys Cruz and Leuris Pupo are planning to participate in the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISFF) World Cup at Ft Benning, in the United States, May 14–23.

• YALENNIS CASTILLO
Going for the gold - London 2012
April 28.11
AS Ronaldo Veitía likes to recall with pride, Yalennis Castillo "came down from the hills of Holguín to conquer the Great Wall of China."

• Four greats of Cuban baseball vie for the title
April 7.11
THE week of March 25 through April 3, all of Cuba, practically a baseball field itself, was riveted on the first series of the playoffs between the eight teams with the best records in the 90-game regular season of the 50th National Series.

• CUBAN ATHLETICS CUP
Savigne: 14.95 meters, best in the world this year
March 24.11
World champion Yargelis Savigne stretched her triple jump to 14.95 meters in the Cuban national championship, setting the best record in the world for the season, lending support to her determination to retain her crown in the World event scheduled for August.

• Dominican boxers train in Cuba
March 24.11
WITH their sights set on the Pan American Games, where they hope to classify with a full team, the Dominican Republic’s boxers have expanded their training in Cuba, along with the local athletes and those from Venezuela and Brazil.

• The Cuban school of triple jump
March 17.11
GIANTS – no doubt such descriptors have been commonplace for some time in the case of Cuban triple jumpers, feared in any competition in which they participate and accustomed to fighting tooth and nail for a prestigious spot on the winners’ podium. Who are the current champions?

• Cuban baseball enters the final stretch
February 24.11
CUBA'S baseball season has entered its final segment, the last 30 games of the regular schedule, after which the eight best teams, four from each division, will continue into the always exciting play-off series, competing for the most coveted title in Cuban sports.

•  Cuban volleyball dreams of an Olympic medal
February 17.11
WITH the addition of young players and a new mentality about the development of the game, Orlando Samuels, coach of the men's volleyball team, affirms that the group is training with their eyes on the London Olympics.

• Baseball National Series
Cienfuegos out front and Guantánamo with wind in its sails
February 17.11
CIENFUEGOS suffered a defeat at the hands of Granma, but with no major consequences, remaining firmly in the lead of Cuba's baseball championship, given that its main rival Pinar del Río lost its sixth game in a row, while Guantánamo has gained momentum with 10 consecutive wins.

• Paralympic world champions prepare for more victories
February 10.11
WITH their six world titles among disabled athletes behind them, Yunidis Castillo, Omara Durand and Leonardo Díaz, are already thinking about the Para-Pan American Games in Guadalajara at the end of the year and the London 2012 Olympics.

• Beyond the homeruns, José Dariel Abreu
February 10.11
LEADING the league in homeruns, runs batted in, hitting and slugging, José Dariel Abreu from Cienfuegos has put his stamp on Cuba's baseball season this year. The statistics identify him as a great hitter, far and above anyone else.

• Robles pulls out a win in Lievin
February 10.11
DAYRON Robles, world record holder in the 110-meter hurdles, was the only Cuban to acquit himself well in the Pas de Calais competition, in the French city of Lievin, after a setback in Stuttgart.

• World Athletics Paralympics
Cuba: Six for six
January.31.11
CUBA'S three athletes participating in the World Paralympics performed like an equilateral triangle in the Christchurch, New Zealand event, which ended January 30 with China winning 21 gold medals, 22 silver and 15 bronze.

• Yunidis and Omara on top of the world
January.27.11
YUNIDIS Castillo confirmed predictions winning the 200-meter (T46) and the 100 meters and establishing a new record in the World Paralympics Athletics Championship in Christchurch, New Zealand, where her compatriot Omara Durand also established a world record in the 200 meters (T13), for Cuba's third gold medal in the competition.

• BOXING
Argentina: lessons in boxing and life in Cuba
January.27.11
THE Pan American Games are the goal and the Olympics the dream of the Argentine boxers training in Cuba this month.
"Training in Cuba is a lesson in boxing and also a lesson in life," said Brian Carlos Castaño, 69kg champion in the ODESUR Games.

• Baseball National Series
Cienfuegos continues in the lead
January.27.11
CIENFUEGOS unleashed its overpowering offense with three homeruns and 17 hits to defeat Granma 10-2 and reassert its dominance in Cuba's 50th Baseball National Series.

• Cuban judokas on tour in Europe
January.21.11
OLYMPIC medalists Yanet Bermoy, Yalennis Castillo and Odalis Ortiz are leading the Cuban women's judo team set to participate in several tournaments in Europe.

• Baseball National Series
Cienfuegos continues full speed ahead
January.21.11
CIENFUEGOS bounced back from a bad run with a pair of victories over La Habana to reclaim its two game lead in Cuban baseball's National Series.

• Baseball in the Gourriel veins
January.21.11
BASEBALL runs in the veins of the Gourriel family. The three brothers, Yulieski, Yunieski and Lourdes-Yunielki play for the Sancti Spíritus team, whose manager is their father, Lourdes.

• Cienfuegos, Cuban baseball's big news
January.16.11
JANUARY 9 marked the conclusion of the first third of the 50th National Series of Cuban baseball, with Cienfuegos looking better all the time, to the point that on the main streets of this beautiful city known as the Pearl of the South, citizens breathe to the rhythm of their ball players who have turned their team into national news.