Yargelis Savigne of Cuba celebrates winning Triple Jump gold in Osaka (© Getty Images)
World leaders Dayron Robles and Yargelis Savigne have been as the selected the best Cuban athletes of the year.
Both athletes, born in the easternmost Cuban province of Guantanamo, head a new generation of Cuban prospects with great chances of shining at the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing .
Savigne, 23, realized one of her dreams by breaking the 15m mark (15.09) in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, on July 7, before claiming the Pan American gold in Rio with a Games record of 14.80.
She went on to surprise everyone in Osaka with an opening 15.28m leap to clinch the World Championship title and move up to the sixth spot on the all-time list.
She ended her season on another high note by winning the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart. In her previous specialty, the Long Jump, she grabbed bronze at the Pan American Games.
“It has been a great year and I could finally achieve some goals. It is a reward for our daily effort and a great boost one year before the Olympics,” said Savigne, who trains under the guidance of former long jumper Milan Matos.
Robles, who turned 21 on 19 November, made up for his fourth place finish in Osaka when flying to a new CAC record of 12.92 in winning the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart which equalled World and Olympic champion Liu Xiang's world season lead. This season Robles also claimed his second international title at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The 2006 World Indoor silver medallist also won three Golden League races in Paris, Zurich and Brussels, and ended the season with a great 13.01 run to beat Liu Xiang in his top rival's hometown, Shanghai.
Other awards...
Yarelis Barrios was named the newcomer of the year as she claimed the Pan American and World University crowns before throwing a personal best for a surprising silver in Osaka.
The top juniors were 19-year old Yordani García, runner-up in Rio and eighth in Osaka with a new Cuban record of 8,257, and 2005 World Youth champion Aimee Martinez, who ran the first leg in the Cuban 4x400m squad who finished seventh in Osaka.
The list of top ten athletes are Osaka silver medallist and World Athletics Final winner Yipsi Moreno (Hammer Throw), Pan American champions Yeimer López (800m), Víctor Moya (High Jump), Roxana Díaz (200m), Mariela González (marathon), Misleydis González (Shot Put) and Osleydis Menéndez (Javelin Throw), as well as Osaka fourth place finisher Osniel Tosca (Triple Jump) and 36-year old Sonia Bicet, second in Rio and sixth in Osaka, who announced her retirement at the end of the season.
These names lead the squad of 40+ Cubans training for the Olympics.
Other remarkable performances this year were Juana Ivis Mendez, Amaurys R. Valle, Dailenys Alcántara and Yosleidis Rivalta, who reached the podium at the World Youth Championships in Ostrava.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
