The fourth-place finish, a record for the Americas included, which javelin thrower Ever René Castro achieved as his farewell to Cuba, served to confirm the positive moments he had at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, India.
It was up to the man from Las Tunas to put an end to the Island's performance at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and he did so at his best: 39.65 meters in the javelin throw (F41), which left him one step away from the podium in an event in which it was known that he had several men with better results.
The Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games champion improved his world-class performance for the third consecutive time. At Paris 2023, he threw 36.63 meters, and a year later at the Kobe Games, he recorded 37.95 meters.
The podium was occupied this Sunday by the Iranian Sadegh Beit Sayah, winner of the gold with a personal best of 48.86 meters, followed in silver and bronze by the Indian Navdeep (45.46) and the Chinese Sun Pengxiang (43.60).
Cuba participated with seven competitors, and six were among the finalists. The highlight was the long-awaited gold medal won by long jumper Robiel Yankiel Sol (T46), and javelin throwers Ulicer Aguilera (F13, silver) and Guillermo Varona (F46, bronze) were also pleasing.
Ulicer's performance also marked a record for the continent, in a year in which he faced difficult moments of injury.
Overall, the head of the Inder's sports department for people with disabilities, Jorge Reinaldo Palma, expressed his satisfaction with the competition.
"It was a very positive performance. So was the unity of everyone, which is our greatest strength," he told JIT, acknowledging that it was the fruit of collective effort.
He regretted that York sprinter Lázaro Suárez didn't receive the medical clearance to participate in the T13 category, although he acknowledged that he has the potential to win more than one medal at any event in the future.
"We must continue perfecting our processes, but overall we're doing well and have the potential to continue growing," confirmed the executive, whose focus is on the remainder of the cycle, especially on reaching the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games with the best possible chances.
TOP 10 MEDAL TABLE AND CUBA
Brazil (15-20-9)
China (13-22-17)
Iran (9-2-5)
Netherlands (8-3-1)
Poland (8-2-6)
Colombia (7-10-4)
Great Britain (7-5-13)
Italy (7-1-3)
United States (6-9-12)
India (6-9-7)
35-Cuba (1-1-1)
Taken from JIT
