Radio Havana Cuba-Olympics Update no.2-16 September 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - Olympics Update no.2 - 16 September 2000 CUBANS THRILLED WITH FIRST OLYMPIC MEDAL Sydney, September 16 (RHC)-- Judoka Manolo Poulot gave Cuba the satisfaction of its first Olympic medal in Sydney: the bronze over Aidyn Smagulov of Kyrgyzstan. Poulot had defeated all his rivals with solid superiority, but due to the selection system he went face to face in the preliminary rounds with 1996 Olympic champion, Japan's Tadahiro Nomura, who pushed him off the path to the gold road. The Japanese athlete finally revalidated his Olympic title in men's 60 kilo division. In an interview with RHC, Poulot said he felt happy with this first medal for the Cuban people, despite it being a bronze. "It's an Olympic medal and bronze is also an honor" he commented, and noticed that although all athletes dream about an Olympic medal of any color he felt satisfied for having provided the Cuban delegation with its first medal in Sydney. Poulot's Trainer Justo Noda also interviewed by RHC, expressed his joy with the medal, and said this is a very important moment in his pupil's career. Noda added that he expects Poulot to be in even better shape for the 2004 Olympics. He is the only Cuban judoka to have a world and Olympic medal. CUBA PRESENT IN 14 DISCIPLINES THIS SATURDAY Sydney, September 16(RHC)-- A total of 21 Cuban athletes were in action Saturday in individual competitions in judo, fencing, weightlifting, shooting and cycling. And despite the joy from winning the bronze medal in men's judo, there was some sad news, including the defeat of Ivan Trebejo in men's fencing. Not a single Cuban fencer managed to make it to the semifinals. Atlanta silver medal winner Ivan Trebejo went farther than the rest of his compatriots, but fell to Russian Pavel Kolobkov 12-15, who was the winner in the long run after defeating Hugue Obry of France 15-12. In the by team category, Cuba was present in five sports but the only smile went to the women's volleyball team with an easy victory over Germany in the classificatory round. In basketball, Cuba fell by 10 points to Russia. In women's judo, Amarilis Savon in 48 walked away empty handed and in the long run, the much awaited bout between the Cuban and Japanese Ryoko Tamura did not take place. NINE WORLD RECORDS ON DAY FIRST OF COMEPTITIONS Sydney, September 16 (RHC)-- A total of nine new world records were established in Sydney Saturday: four in swimming, three in weightlifting, one in archery and another in cycling. In swimming, Australian Ian Thorpe established a new supremacy in men's 400 meters free with a time of 3 minutes and 40.59 seconds. Yana Kloshkova from the Ukraine was the protagonist of another record in women's 400 meters medley with a time of 4 minutes and 33.59 seconds. The US's women's 4 by 100 meter free style relay team established the new mark in 3minutes and 36.61 seconds, while its Australian men's counterpart dominated with 3 minutes and 13.67 seconds. The other records were: Turkish weightlifter Halil Mutly did away with all previous marks in men's 56 kilo division with 138 kilos in snatch, 167.5 in clean and jerk and a total of 305.5 kilos. German cyclist Robert Bartko set the supremacy in men's 4 thousand meter individual pursuit with a time of 4 minutes and 18.972 seconds. The South Korean women's archery team accumulated 1.994 points in the 70 meter distance. It is astonishing to see nine new world marks established in just one day and it could be considered a good omen for the 27th edition of the Summer Olympic Games. Though not included in the medal predictions, the Brazilian men's 4 by 100 meters free style relay team placed itself in the third notch, giving Latin America the second medal of the day. The team was made up of Gustavo Borges, Ferando Scherer, Carlos Uayme and Edvaldo Silva Filho and their time was 3 minutes and 17.40 seconds. Australia dominated the discipline followed by the United States. Australian Ian Thorpe who was also part of the team grabbed his second gold medal. COSTA RICA FOR ITS FIRST OF THREE POSSIBILE MEDALS IN SWIMMING Sydney, September 16 (RHC)-- Costa Rican swimmer Claudia Poll makes her debut in women's 400 meters free style on Sunday. She will be participating in three races and her goal is to re-edit her Atlanta performance and provide her nation with a gold medal. She will be competing in 800 and 200 meters, where she grabbed gold four years ago. THE FIRST GOLDS IN SYDNEY Sydney, September 16 (RHC)-- The first gold medals of the Sydney Games were conferred in triathlon and shooting. Swiss Brigitte McMahon won gold in women's triathlon, becoming the first athlete in history to do so since this sport is making its debut in Australia. However, the first gold medal of the games was grabbed by Nancy Johnson from the United States, who in her last shot won the competition in air rifle 10 meters. LOPEZ AND LAMELAS, THE ONLY CUBAN GYMNASTS IN SYDNEY Sydney, September 16 (RHC)-- Cubans gymnasts Erick Lopez and Lazaro Lamelas are the only athletes of the island in this discipline. They made their debut Saturday with a fair performance. Despite the top quality of athletes from some 20 countries, the Cubans proved their skills in six apparatus and advanced to the classificatory rounds. Erick Lopez was fourth and Lazaro Lamelas 12th. Lopez reached the highest number of points of the day in rings-- his best discipline-- totaling 9.637. Lamelas got 9.562 points on the horizontal bar. After their performance, they have the chance to make it to the finals by apparatus and in all around. However, European gymnasts controlled most of the top position due to their traditional high quality. CUBA FACES SOUTH AFRICA IN BASEBALL Sydney, September 16 (RCH)-- The powerful Cuban baseball team will have in South African its first rival on the road to revalidating its title. Cuba should have no problem against South Africa, since it appears to be the weakest team among participants. Cuba is the country with the smallest number of pitchers in its ranks with only 8, while most of the remaining teams have ten or eleven. This is the first time professional players participate in an Olympic Games, but the Cuban are not loosing their sleep over it. Excellent players like Orestes Kindelan, Antonio Pacheco, Omar Linaes and German Mesa can be decisive for the team's aspirations to take the title for the third time. Baseball made its Olympic debut at the Barcelona 1992 games. Other rivals for the Cubans will be Italy and South Korea then Holland taking September 20th as a rest day, and then will enter a more difficult round with Australia, the USA and Japan. CUBAN BOXERS WITH SUCCESSFUL DEBUT Sydney, September 16(RHC)-- The two Cuban boxers who climbed into the ring Saturday walked out with smiles on their faces after beating their respective rivals. Roberto Guerra in the 67 kilo division defeated Zambia's Ellis Chibuye, while Guillermo Rigondeaux in 54 put Tunisian Moez Zemzemi to sleep in the first round. AFTER DAY ONE OF COMPETITIONS, THE HOST COUNTRY DOMINATES THE MEDAL STANDINGS. Sydney, September 16(RHC)-- When Saturday competitions finished in that part of the world, Australia, the host country was up top in the medal standings. 1) AUSTRALIA 2 2 1 5 2) EEUU 2 1 1 4 3) FRANCIA 2 1 0 3 4) JAPON 2 1 0 3 5) RUSIA 1 1 0 2 18) BRASIL 0 0 1 1 19) CUBA 0 0 1 1 TOTAL 13 13 15 41 (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. Todos los derechos reservados. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= rhc-eng-31977 2000-Sep-17 08:33:55