Four Cuban rowers taking part in the Pan-American Games in Toronto have defected, a report said Wednesday citing a Cuban official.

The Canadian Press agency cited coach Juan Carlos Reyes as saying that rowers Leosmel Ramos, Wilber Turro, Manuel Suarez and Orlando Sotolongo had all left the squad.

Orlando Sotolongo Tuesday won a silver medal on Tuesday in his rowing event in St Catharines, Ontario, near the border with the United States.

Reyes said the four athletes had traveled to the United States after quitting the team but had maintained contacts through social networks.

A Cuban delegation official declined to comment on the report, stating only that the rowing team was due to return to Cuba on Wednesday after competition wrapped up.

Cuban athletes often defect during international tournaments in order to seek better pay and conditions than in their homeland.

In the 1999 Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, eight members of the Cuban delegation defected.
Source: AFP