The Diamond League farewell

Cuba’s final representatives left the Diamond League season with only one podium appearance, underscoring how far the country’s athletics program still has to go despite signs of renewed prominence.

Roxana Gómez finished sixth in the 400 meters in 50.88 seconds at Saturday’s closing event in Brussels. As expected, the race belonged to Dominican runner Marileidy Paulino, who stopped the clock at 48.64, a meeting record. Norway’s Henriette Jaeger took silver in 49.20, followed by Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce in 49.36. Their results pushed American Aaliyah Butler, who arrived with the year’s third-fastest time, off the podium.

Lázaro Martínez confirmed the discreet form he had shown throughout the campaign in the triple jump. He recorded two fouls before withdrawing from the competition. The event was instead dominated by athletes representing other countries who have Cuban ties: Italy’s Andy Díaz won with 17.74 meters, ahead of Portugal’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo at 17.51. Jamaica’s Jordan Scott took the final medal with 17.18.

Reynier Mena, competing without a contract with the federation, closed the 200 meters in a modest 20.90 seconds. Kenneth Bednarek matched his own season-leading mark of 19.62, ahead of South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile and Zambia’s Makanakaishe Charamba. Leyanis Pérez’s silver in the triple jump on Friday was the sole Cuban podium finish. The results, Granma wrote, show that athletics has regained some attention at different levels, but still needs much more consolidation.