Cuba sets Copa Cuba athletics meet for May 21-22 in Havana

Leyanis Pérez Hernández, Liadagmis Povea and Maikel Massó will give Copa Cuba its edge when Havana’s Estadio Panamericano opens for two days of national track and field on May 21 and 22. For Cuban athletics, this is the kind of meet that can sharpen rivalries, reset form and show which names are ready to carry the season beyond the capital.

The Federación Cubana de Atletismo set the schedule on May 19, confirming a fixture that has become a familiar marker on the island’s calendar. Copa Cuba has landed at Estadio Panamericano before, including a March 2022 edition and the 2024 Cuban Championships at the same venue, so the stage is already associated with Cuba’s most useful domestic tests. In 2024, the Panamericano also hosted an opening ceremony that doubled as the official retirement moment for discóbolo Jorge Yadián Fernández, a reminder that this meet often blends competition with ceremony and continuity.

The biggest watchpoint remains Leyanis. Born on January 10, 2002, she is ranked world No. 1 in the women’s triple jump, owns a personal best of 15.16 meters set on June 23, 2024, and has already claimed a world title and two Diamond League Final wins. That resume gives every domestic appearance added weight, especially when Copa Cuba has already produced one of its most watched storylines through the Leyanis-Povea duel in 2023. When both jumpers show up in Havana, the meeting stops being just another stop on the domestic circuit and becomes a real test of Cuba’s strongest event group.

Maikel Massó adds a different kind of intrigue. JIT highlighted his return at Copa Cuba 2025 as one of the meet’s positive moments, alongside attention on the 100m hurdles, and that kind of comeback narrative is exactly what gives this competition its pull. The same was true last year, when JIT described Copa Cuba as bringing “pleasant news, surprises and topics for analysis,” a line that fits the meet’s role as both scoreboard and selection board.

That is why the May 21-22 edition matters beyond two days in Havana. Strong marks at Estadio Panamericano can shape momentum, restore confidence and clarify who is ready for the next regional push. For Cuba’s athletics season, Copa Cuba is not just where the calendar lands. It is where the season starts telling the truth.