Cuban gymnast Larduet goes for Olympic dream

Cuban gymnast Manrique Larduet is determined to fulfill his dream in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

At only 20 years of age, his petite figure and small size make him stand out from the crowd.

Larduet said during an exclusive interview with Xinhua before leaving for Brazil that he hoped to make "the Cuban people happy" by becoming the first athlete in his discipline to win an Olympic medal.

"For me, I am extremely proud to represent my country in gymnastics, where there isn't much of a tradition in Cuba, but lots of dedication and enthusiasm from all the athletes that practice it, especially for me because I am going to Rio de Janeiro to make history," said Larduet.

The young athlete's performance has filled all the Caribbean island with expectation as they watched Larduet's qualification step-by-step on Saturday night for the all around final which will take place on Aug. 10.

The Cuban athlete will also compete for a medal on Aug. 16 in the individual finals for horizontal bar and parallel bars.

"After Cuba not doing very remarkably internationally in gymnastics in over a decade, I am going to give it my all in order to fulfill my dream of winning an Olympic medal, because it is the only title that I am missing in my career and I hope to win it in Rio," said Larduet.

The Cuban also said that he feels "psychologically ready and on a sporting level," and he added that his preparation has gone "very well," which he said was very important for guaranteeing the long-awaited success.

The young Cuban gymnast began to make headlines in the 32nd Central American Games in 2014 in the Mexican eastern state of Veracruz.

He won the gold medal for all around and also took home gold in vault and four silver medals in floor, still rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar.

Previously, in the 17th Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada in 2015, he won the silver medal in all around and parallel bars, and a gold in vault. Later on in the same year, Larduet became runner up in the World Championships held in Glasgow, Scotland, winning silver in all around and a bronze in horizontal bar.

This result was the Cuban artistic gymnast's best performance at a world competition and he helped the Caribbean island to finish the event in eighth place, behind the United States, Japan, Russia, China, Great Britain, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Greece.

Born on July 10, 1996, in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, 870 kilometers east of Cuban capital, Havana, Larduet has been doing gymnastics since he was five years old.

A neighbor at the time acknowledged the youngsters talent and trained him until he entered the National Gymnastics School in the Cuban capital in 2005.

The young athlete remembered that there were difficult times along the way. At 9, he had to live far away from his family, who always supported him and gave him strength to continue improving and reach his goals.

In the interview with Xinhua, Larduet gave a special thank you to his coaches, especially Carlos Gil, who has been with him the past 10 years of his life and has made sure that "I am always in my best competitive condition."

Gil recently told local media that the aim was to help the artistic gymnast to get to a podium finish at the Olympic Games in Rio.

Cuba's best Olympic performance in gymnastics was at Sydney in 2000, when Erick Lopez finished in 17th place in the all around event. Endit