Member of Cuban Judo Team Defects in Paris

From our Bureau of Great Escapes From Sinking Ships

Add another name to the long list of Cuban athletes who have defected recently. That anyone would jump ship is no surprise. The real surprise or puzzle is why the entire Olympic team hasn’t already defected.

The Cuban judoka Dayle Ojeda, a representative of the +78 kg category in the national team set to compete in the Paris Olympics, left the delegation just days before the competitions began.

Cubalite reported that the Havana-born athlete joined the numerous Cuban athletes who have separated from the national teams in 2024, following the completion of training for judoka Idalys Ortiz, the top figure in the +78 kg division, with whom she was collaborating.

Both were in Paris, and when it was time to return to Cuba with other judokas performing the same function, she decided to leave the group, the news site explained.