First three-time Central Caribbean Champions of Holguín
- Written by Calixto González Betancourt
- Published in Sports
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Forty two years ago Holguín had its first three-time champions in the Central American and Caribbean Games, when the basketball player Santa Margarita Skeet Quiñones and the water polo goalkeeper Oscar Periche Cardet won their medals in Medellín, Colombia, held from July 7 to 22, 1978.
These two icons of the sports in Holguín became four champions of those competitions with the Games of Havana-1982.
Skeet debuted in the Central American and Caribbean Games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico-1966, where she won a silver medal to later achive her golden medal, while Periche won four gold medals in those competitions.
Skeet debuted in the Central American and Caribbean Games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico-1966, where she won a silver medal to later achive her golden medal, while Periche won four gold medals in those competitions.
Later, other Holguín athletes equaled and surpassed those total of medals. The diver Lourdes González, on a three-meter springboard, was the third triple champion with her golden medals in 1978, 1982 and Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic-1986.
In these events, Holguín achieved a record in the number of gold medals and total in the same edition, as athlete Raúl Menéndez added four gold medals (arzones, parallels, fixed bar and per team) and two silver.
The rower Leonides Samé managed to accumulate seven golds in three editions (two, three and two) and the sprinter Liliana Allen, six maximum titles in two events, the basketball player Yamilet Martínez reached four golds and the judoka Yalennis Castillo (70 and 78 kilos) to three (two in one edition).
The Holguín athlete with the largest number of gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games is the shooter Leuris Pupo with 10 golds and a total of 15 medals (adding four silver and one bronze), in four games.
The Central American and Caribbean Games become the oldest regional sports event in the world.