It was Spaniard Jordan Díaz, Portuguese national Pablo Pichardo and now-Italian Andy Díaz who claimed spots one, two and three respectively at the all Cuban-exile triple jump podium two weeks ago. They were born not too far apart in Cuba and yet were ‘adopted’ by other nations to represent them at the Olympic Games and win medals, which they did in grandiose fashion.

That gold, silver and bronze would have added to the tally of nine medals that the Caribbean country claimed at the Games end, and it was far from an outlier scenario, as  its sporting authorities complain that, next to the five other medals won by athletes who migrated to host nations, those eight total  would have allowed Cuba to move up 10 slots in the rankings, all the way up to the 22nd spot. “Migration is doing a lot of damage to Cuban sport and many medals are being lost,” Enrique Steyners, one of three coaches from the island working with the Uzbekistan boxing team, which held court in Paris with five golds, told AFP.

Facing its worst economic crisis with soaring inflation, blackouts and shortages of food and medicine, Cuba was represented at the Olympics by 61 athletes in 16 sports. However, 21 of its émigrés, representing 13 countries in a dozen disciplines, won eight medals (1-4-3) and Cuba finished in 32nd place, its worst finish since Rome 1960, winning the fewest medals since Munich 1972.

Despite maintaining its status as Latin America's historic leader in the Olympic Games, with 86 titles, things are looking bleak at the moment, as Raúl Fernández, a Cuban trainer who led China to three golds and two silver medals in Paris, acknowledges. “With coaches also training elsewhere, it’s also going to be more difficult,” he points out.

Around 50 Cuban coaches, including 19 boxing coaches, represented some 30 countries, winning more than 20 medals, including 11 golds. In addition to Steyners' five crowns with Uzbekistan and Fernández's three with China, among those titles was that of the controversial Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif, 66 kg champion, whose coach is Cuban Pedro Luis Díaz.

According to official figures, 187 high-performance athletes migrated from 2022 by the end of last year, among them more than a dozen boxers, including Tokyo Olympic champion Andy Cruz and world champion Yoenlis Feliciano Hernandez.

“We don't have the athletes who had to continue the journey,” Rolando Acebal, head coach of Cuban boxing, which won only a gold and a bronze medal in Paris, told AFP in April.

Just three years ago, the Cuban delegation won 15 medals, including seven golds, and finished 14th. “As a past powerhouse, we are in decline, and I think we are seeing it in the results,” Yaseen Pérez, the Cuban coach of Dominican Marileidy Paulino, the 400m Olympic champion, told AFP.

The exodus of athletes and coaches caused by the severe economic crisis has also fuelled a growing rivalry between athletes from the island and the ones that opted to leave. Steyners argues that migration is a personal decision.

In addition to the media-worthy dispute in the triple jump, in the final fight for his fifth consecutive Olympic crown, Greco-Roman wrestling legend Mijaín López (130 kg) defeated his compatriot Yasmani Acosta, who defended the colours of Chile. But Cuban émigré Loren Berto Alfonso (92 kg), representing Azerbaijan, beat the captain of Cuba's once mighty boxing squad, Julio Cesar La Cruz, in his first outing, depriving him of even a shot at a third Olympic crown.

Steyners believes that the phenomenon of sporting migration should lead to “an in-depth analysis” by the country's sports authorities. “We have to study it, analyse it and look for alternatives,” he says. Pérez believes that “the loss of talent alone” cannot be blamed for the poor results and calls for a “change of vision” in order to reestablish past performances.