As preparations ramp up for the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games set to take place in Santo Domingo in 2026, Cuba has formally submitted its largest national delegation in recent Games history, locking in 504 athletes across 42 competitive sports to compete next year. The island nation’s roster will be spread across 356 of the 497 total medal events on the Games’ official program, marking an ambitious showing against a backdrop of persistent domestic economic challenges.
According to José Antonio Miranda Carrera, director general of high performance at Cuba’s National Institute of Sports (Inder), the size and scope of the 2026 delegation underscores the country’s long-standing dedication to regional athletic excellence. Despite facing ongoing economic constraints that have impacted sports training and logistics, Cuba remains committed to retaining its position among the top three performing nations in the Games’ overall medal standings, a goal Miranda says the entire delegation is focused on achieving.
Minor adjustments to the final roster left Cuba just two spots short of filling its full 506 allocated athlete quota, with late changes to entry numbers in the canoeing and diving disciplines forcing the small cut. Even with this adjustment, the 2026 delegation still outpaces the 494 athletes Cuba sent to the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games hosted in San Salvador, representing a small but notable expansion of the nation’s competitive presence.
Cuba’s competitive targets for the 2026 Games extend beyond a top-three ranking: officials have set a goal of claiming roughly 70 gold medals, and the event will also serve as a critical qualification pathway for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima. A total of 19 sports at the Santo Domingo Games will award qualification spots for the upcoming Pan American event, making early, strong performances critical for Cuban athletes aiming to compete in Lima in two years.
To acclimate to local time zones, venue conditions and the Dominican Republic’s climate, a number of Cuban athletic squads have already arrived and begun training on the ground. Among these early arrivals are athletes from women’s volleyball, judo, shooting, weightlifting, and triathlon, who have been setting up training camps ahead of competition. The nation’s men’s and women’s water polo teams are scheduled to join the pre-Games training group on July 19, completing the bulk of the delegation’s arrival for preparation.
Looking back at recent regional competition, Cuba secured third place in the overall 2023 San Salvador Games medal table, finishing behind hosts Mexico and Colombia. But across the entire history of the Central American and Caribbean Games, Cuba holds an unrivaled record as the most successful competing nation, leading the all-time overall medal standings by a significant margin. This historic legacy of excellence is a core driver of the 2026 delegation’s high ambitions, officials say.