Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, July 9 – Holguín native Lizabeth Godales recently became the individual rhythmic gymnastics queen at the National Junior Games, but beyond that dominance, her main goal was to rack up hours on the mat with her mind set on the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Asunción.
Lizabeth will be the only one on the Island in the individual tournament scheduled for August 9-23, and teaching now in Camagüey marked an excellent moment for her and her coaches.
“We will go to Asunción with a very young group; everyone involved is between 13 and 15 years old, and above all, they need to compete a lot,” national commissioner Yainet Villalta told JIT, assessing not only Lizabeth's performance but also that of the other athletes who will compete in the Paraguayan competition.
Crowned as the top individual accumulator, Lizabeth was escorted on the podium by Havana native Alys Pacheco and Holguin native Lauren Curbelo.
In the ranking by province, the northeastern provinces led, ahead of Havana and Camagüey. Nine territories were represented in a sport that included competitions on the four official apparatuses of the current season: clubs, ribbon, ball, and hoop.
Among the groups it was decided to bring together in one the classified for Asuncion -regardless of the provinces they represent-, because that way the work could be evaluated.
As expected, she dominated both programs, the five-hoop program and the five-paired club program, and Camagüey and Guantánamo completed the podium, in that order.
The winning team was comprised of Aridays Johnson, Thalia Milenis Lara, Alys Pacheco, Samantha Muñoz, and Nathalia Bistuer.
"The main deficiencies we were able to observe were focused on technical errors, especially in the execution of artistic elements," explained the director, who also mentioned the need to improve body language.
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport of appreciation, so it's very important to show the greatest possible "ease," to execute each element of the program well, and above all, to please the judges.
It's not just about working cleanly; it's necessary to show confidence and ease... to be seen as mastering the executions, confessed Villalta, who recognizes inexperience in competition as the main factor against the athletes.
We don't go to Asunción with medal predictions, but it's good to say that everyone is very committed to giving their all. We see it in every training session; they've tripled their commitment and are in very good spirits, she acknowledged. (Text and photo: JIT)
