Cuban divers - out of the water and leaping to the top

Cuban divers began 2010 on the right foot, or perhaps better said, with balanced vaults into all the pools where they competed. These have translated into several medals in the World Series, Grand Prix Tournament and, especially, the third place bronze medal at the synchronized diving 10m platform of the Changzhou World Cup in China.

The Cuban pair, José Antonio Guerra and Jenkler Aguirre, went beyond previous results and achieved a record 462.60 points that placed them on a podium with the favourite Chinese team, Yuan Cao and Yanquan Zhang, who scored 500.46 points.

Guerra and Aguirre, who already won world level third in 2009, started the season with bronze medals in two of the meets of the Diving World Series and won silver at the Montreal Grand Prix in Canada. But it was in China, in Changzhou, that they faced their biggest challenge: facing the 13 best pairs on the planet.

Rolando Ruiz Pedreguera, national diving commissioner and important international judge, spoke with Cubaplus about Guerra and Aguirre's performance. Not only did they perform brilliantly in technique and execution, he said, but also showed great competitive spirit that startled more