Swimmer Hanser Garcia to Lead Cubans in World Championship

HAVANA TIMES — Hanser Garcia will lead the Cuban delegation competing in the 21st FINA World Championships Short Course Swimming, to be held from December 12 to 16 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Olympic finalist in the 100 meter freestyle, will be competing alongside the promising young Alex Hernandez (butterfly) and Armando Barrera (back-stroke), who will travel to Turkey with the aim of “gaining experience,” stated national commissioner Rodolfo Falcon.

Garcia, runner-up in the 100 meter race and a bronze medalist in the 50 meter free-style at the 2011 Pan American Games, will again compete in both distances. His seventh place showing in the finals of the hectometer race in London (a Cuban record of 48.04 seconds) placed him in eighth position in world rankings this year.

This meet will serve to begin their preparation for the World Meet in July in Barcelona.