At this Centenary event, the national delegation qualified for next year’s continental games in five of the 19 sports offering berths: handball, field hockey, athletics, archery, and rhythmic gymnastics.

Regarding Cuba’s performance at the multi-sport festival, it was noted that the 51 gold medals—topping the medal count, which also included 48 silver and 56 bronze medals—fell short of the 62 planned following analyses conducted with coaching staffs after final adjustments to the competition schedule.

At the same time, it was highlighted that 34 of the gold medals were won by athletes and teams that had been predicted to win them, and 23 of the remaining 28 reached the podium.

A total of 15 sports contributed gold medals, with Cuban dominance seen in wrestling (10), judo (six), field hockey (two), handball (two), and beach volleyball (men’s gold and women’s silver).

In the released statement, the Cuban delegation emphasized that—regardless of the number of medals, records, and other feats, or the dissatisfaction regarding unmet goals—”the third-place finish by country deserves recognition, as it fulfilled predictions; however, this does not mean ignoring the need to rethink what we could have done—and can still do—better, even under current conditions.”

The Cuban delegation to Santo Domingo—composed largely of young athletes who trained amidst power outages and shortages caused by the U.S. blockade—faced the challenge with joy and determination.

  Overcoming disadvantages ranging from technology to the rigors of competition, as well as officiating injustices that hampered her performance, she upheld the values ​​of a humanistic sport—respecting fair play and opponents—fully aware that her fans applaud sportsmanship, dignity, and decorum, even when these qualities do not always lead to the podium, she noted.

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