Havana/Cuban gymnast Manrique Larduet Bicet returned to the podium after several years plagued by injuries. The athlete won the Campione D’Italia Assoluto 2026 this Saturday and “demonstrates once again his enormous quality in artistic gymnastics,” highlighted journalist Raúl Rodríguez in Dporto Sports News.
Larduet Bicet, with 82,900 points, surpassed the Italians Yumin Abbadini and Simone Speranza. In addition to the title, he advanced to four apparatus finals, where he will arrive as one of the main favorites. “It confirms that the talented Santiago native continues to write important chapters in a brilliant international career.”
The communicator recalled that Cuba lost this athlete. The man from Santiago was the main figure of artistic gymnastics on the Island when in 2020 the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder) did not include him in the delegation that competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
According to the managers, he was out of the “physical and technical shape necessary for an event of that level.” Larduet Bicet denied the official version and clarified that months before the announcement he had resigned because they did not allow him to continue his preparation with his coach Carlos Gil and they even removed him from Inder.
Larduet Bicet was a benchmark in world gymnastics during the Rio 2016 Olympic cycle.
“I take responsibility for my resignation, but I do not assume the lack of respect. If I stayed silent it is because I did not want to continue hurting myself emotionally, I felt very bad. I know that the networks do not always favor, but we also have to clarify what is not said,” the gymnast said at that time.
Larduet Bicet was a benchmark in world gymnastics during the Rio 2016 Olympic cycle. With Cuba, he was world runner-up on the fixed bar (2015) and silver medalist in the all-around competition at the World Cup in Glasgow that same year, in addition to winning multiple medals at the Pan American Games and World Cups. He also stood out by being included in several finals at the Olympic Games.
Tired of being disdained by the sports authorities on the Island, the gymnast left the country in 2022 and headed to Italy. “New beginning, new family. Thank you for the opportunity,” he announced on his social networks and confirmed that he would be part of the Palestra As Gin–Ssd Ginnastica, a club located in the city of Civitavecchia, in Lazio.
Last year he joined the Romagna Team. Larduet Bicet immediately set his goals: “My goal is to reach Los Angeles 2028. I feel mature, physically and mentally, and I am ready to fight for an Olympic medal.”
According to the specialized media Latin Gymnasticswith his arrival to the Romagna Team, Manrique Larduet renews his Olympic dream, “this time under new colors, with the same ambition that led him to become one of the great names in world gymnastics.”
