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The Cuban Sport and its Characteristics
The Cuban sport possesses great importance, in both the national and international contexts.
For its continuous merits in their competitive development, Cuba has been recognized at a world level as a sport authority. Volleyball, baseball, boxing and athletics are the most popular sports in the island.
The “ball” or baseball became the national sport by the middle of the XX century and through the years the performance of this sport acting has allowed the bigger of the Antilles to show a supreme place in universal events.
The second place obtained in the first World Baseball Classic, is a faithful example of this performing. Boxing is the second sport preferred by the Cubans and as baseball it has contributed to the country’s numerous laurels.
Athletics is another of the important disciplines in the Cuban sport history and its trajectory has transformed it into a support that guarantees the Cuban success in international tournaments such as the Olympiads and the Pan-Americans.
One of its more representative figures is the champion and world recorder Javier Sotomayor.
On the other hand, it is necessary to stand out that although the soccer is not so developed in the country, it has won new followers and greater popularity in Cuba.
As an important fact, we can underline that Cuba possesses a sport quarry that begins to be formed from the earliest ages.
From very small, the future sportsmen get ready and they perfect their performance through inter-school games that contribute to their athletic formation.
The Olympic and Pan-American Games in the Cuban Sport
For the Cuban sport one of the most successful Olympic Games was Barcelona 1992, in which the bigger of the Antilles reached a total of 14 gold medals and it was able to take the 5th place among countries in the medals chart.
For several decades, an small island of the Caribbean has been able to be located in the Olympic Games among the ten better countries of the world.
In the case of the Pan-American Games one can say that Cuba historically has acted successfully in such events.
The same as in the Olympiads, the island is always located among the ten better nations in the Pan-American area. Participating in its usual sports, say athletics, baseball, judo, free fights, boxing, handball and others, the bigger of the Antilles is one of the countries with more medals in international events.
The Cuban Sport and the Medicine
Cuban sport has always been very bound to medicine, due to its influence in obtaining good results in the athletes’ performance.
Likewise, the Cuban medicine has been a flag to fight against the lash of drugs.
Such it is this way that Cuba counts with an Anti-doping Laboratory to these ends, serving in Latin America and to the disposition of the countries of the third world.
Also, Cuba has the Sport Medicine Institute, which serves to the Latin American countries and enjoys great prestige since it contributes to the maintenance of the athletes’ health and to their rehabilitation.
