At the 1996 World Championships, Annia Portuondo became the first Cuban gymnast to win a medal, earning bronze on vault.[1] Five years later at the 2001 World Championships Charles León Tamayo and Erick López would become the first male Cuban gymnasts to win a medal at the World Championships, earning bronze on vault and silver on parallel bars respectively.[2]
| Cuba at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | CUB |
| Medals |
|
During the 2003 World Championships, which took place in Anaheim, California, three Cuban gymnasts defected.[3][4][5] As a result, Cuba opted to stop sending gymnasts to the World Championships or Olympic Games. Cuban gymnasts would later return to these large international competitions, starting with the 2015 World Championships.[6] At this competition Manrique Larduet won two medals, a silver in the all-around and bronze on horizontal bar.[7][8]
Medalists edit
| Medal | Name | Year | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bronze |
Annia Portuondo |  1996 San Juan |
Women's vault |
| Bronze |
Charles León Tamayo |  2001 Ghent |
Men's vault |
 Silver |
Erick López | Men's parallel bars | |
| Silver |
Manrique Larduet |  2015 Glasgow |
Men's all-around |
| Bronze |
Manrique Larduet | Men's horizontal bar |
References edit
- ^ "Portuondo Hatch, Annia". Cubans in America.
- ^ "Erick López: El hombre perfecto de los cuatro Panamericanos" [Erick López: The perfect man of the four Pan American Games]. Cubadebate (in Spanish). October 15, 2023.
- ^ "OLY - Cuban gymnast decides to defect". ESPN. August 17, 2003.
- ^ "Second Gymnast Defects". Los Angeles Times. August 19, 2003.
- ^ "Cuban Gymnast Defects". CBS. August 23, 2003.
- ^ "Cuban Gymnasts Will Make a Bid For Rio". The Gymternet. November 15, 2014.
- ^ "Cuban Manrique Larduet took a surprising, history-making silver at worlds". USA Today. October 30, 2015.
- ^ "Cuban gymnast Manrique Larduet secures Rio spot with high bar bronze". USA Today. November 1, 2015.