Yailena Palomo: a boxer from Matanzas in Team Cuba.

Yailena Palomo Nocedo is 28 years old and currently belongs to the Cuban national women’s boxing team.

Yailena Palomo Nocedo is 28 years old and currently belongs to Cuba’s national women’s boxing team. Born in Colón, the pugilist does not come from combat disciplines like most of her teammates, but before discovering her love for the sport of the gloves, she played basketball, among others. About her beginnings in boxing, Yailena Palomo says it was unexpected.

«When I was in elementary school I first practiced basketball, we were municipal champions and then when the women’s softball began, I participated several times in training, I was about a month, but then I left the sport and I dedicated myself more to study.

«My girl’s father at that time, my ex-husband, was a boxing coach and I went one day with him and he asked me if I wanted to start training to learn for me, what defense was, to prepare myself physically and I said yes and at the end of August I started boxing.»

Yailena has only been practicing the sport for a short time, but she is already seeing satisfactory results in her career. She won the bronze medal in the national championship, in the 50 kg division, and will soon participate in the world championship in Kazakhstan, in September.

«The preparation has been very intense, we get up at 4:00 in the morning and do our first training session, then at 9:30 we do another training session and then in the afternoon we do individual work.

«The world championship is going to be the first international event where we are going to face the two new athletes that we are there. As they say, we Cubans have the best boxing academy and we women are also going to contribute our grain of sand.»

To reach the goals we set as people, perseverance and responsibility are necessary to achieve our objectives and for Palomo Nocedo this is fundamental in her preparation.

Written by Melissa Guerra.