SANTO DOMINGO. Dominican judoka Robert Florentino was proclaimed champion of the -90 kilogram category by winning the gold medal at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026, adding a new title for the national delegation.

The athlete from San Juan de la Maguana defeated the Puerto Rican Derik Rodríguez in the final by ippon, just one minute and three seconds into the first round, in the match held at the judo pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.

Florentino completed an impeccable performance throughout the day, also winning by ippon against Guadeloupe’s Nemuel Claude in his debut, overcoming Mexican Diego Díaz in the quarterfinals, and defeating Cuban Naysdel Cardoso in the semifinals, before securing the regional title.

The award represents the first Central American and Caribbean gold in the Dominican’s career, who had previously obtained silver medals in Barranquilla 2018 and San Salvador 2023, thus consolidating his trajectory in the Olympic cycle.

The experienced judoka, 29 years old, also has in his record a bronze medal at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, in addition to a silver at a World Championship and a bronze at an international Grand Prix.

With this victory, Robert Florentino continues to expand the Dominican Republic’s medal count and reaffirms his position as one of the main benchmarks in national and international judo.