{"id":301611,"date":"2024-05-07T15:03:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T19:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=301611"},"modified":"2024-05-07T15:03:50","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T19:03:50","slug":"johan-silot-a-cuban-judoka-champion-of-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/sports-cuba\/johan-silot-a-cuban-judoka-champion-of-the-united-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Johan Silot: a Cuban judoka champion of the United States"},"content":{"rendered":"

Johan Silot landed with many emotions in his native country. He represented the United States at the Varadero Open Judo 2024. After three years, he was returning to Cuba, this time as an official member of the nation that welcomed him. Would he do well in the competition? What would he feel when facing the island\u2019s judokas? Could he get a medal in the 81-kilogram division?<\/span><\/p>\n

All these questions were going through the mind of the judoka, who started the competition in the Matanzas beach resort on the right foot. From the outset, he fell bye in the first round and was one of two exponents in the 81-kilogram division who did not have to compete so early in the morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the pool C final he defeated Yaddik Kindel\u00e1n. In the semifinal match, he would have a serious rival, Canadian David Popovici, bronze medalist at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Still, he overcame the difficult obstacle to secure his place in the final.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the gold medal discussion, he beat Cuban Naysdel Cardoso and won the title in a weight category where Cuba, currently, does not have representatives with great international results. Despite this and as a curious fact, the entire podium of the division at the Varadero Open was made up of athletes from the island: Maikel McKenzie and Rub\u00e9n Romero took the bronze medals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inevitably, the image of Silot at the top of the event ahead of other Cubans made us question whether the judoka could have been the island\u2019s first figure in this weight. But in combat sports, as in life, assumptions are worthless.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trajectory<\/b><\/p>\n

The victory at the Varadero Open was his first international title. The 21-year-old from Havana won the bronze medal at the Pan American and Oceania tournament in September 2023, and at the Montreal Open in November of that same year. A few months earlier he had finished in seventh place at the Junior European Cup in Slovgenc Gradec, Slovenia, and at the Junior European Cup in Birmingham, England.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Uma publica\u00e7\u00e3o compartilhada por Pedro’s Judo & Martial Arts (@pedrosjudo)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n