PREDICTIONS... a favorite activity of sports fans here, excited about Cuba’s performance beginning July 27 at the London Olympics and the possibility of redeeming ourselves after finishing 28th in the Beijing medal count (2-11-11).

Athletics and martial arts should be the country’s big winners in London. Among the latter, there is plenty of confidence in the wrestling team. Let’s take a look at how Cuba’s principal Olympic prospects have performed over the last four years, to see who might bring home a medal. Twelve Cuban wrestlers have qualified, among the 344 registered.

Olympic champion Mijaín López (120 kg), Pablo Shorey (84) and Pedro Isaac (66) were just about perfect at the Milone International Tournament, held in the Italian city of Sassari, with 95 wrestlers from 22 countries competing.

Mijaín defeated Tunisian Chebi Radhouane in the final, while Shorey eliminated Austrian Arnet Hrustanovic. Isaac took a silver medal, falling victim to the veteran South Korean Jung Ji Hyun, Athens ’04 Olympic champion.

Their accomplishments during the three World competitions of the period would indicate that they are all in position to win a medal. Very few of their most challenging rivals have been able to repeat winning performances.

Let’s start with Mijaín, Cuba’s most serious title contender, despite the emergence of Turkey’s Riza Kayaalp. López won the Herning ’09 and Moscow ’10 championships, and placed second in Istanbul ’11.

Kayaalp won bronze medals in the 2009 and 2010 events and the championship in 2011. Everyone is looking forward to this match-up, but Kazakhstan’s Nurmajan Tinaliyev and Armenian Yuri Patrikeyev, among others, should not be overlooked.

Shorey won a bronze medal in Denmark and a silver in Russia. His most challenging opponent appears to be Turkey’s Namzi Avluca, the only wrestler who has also repeated a medal-winning performance, with a gold and a bronze.

Alim Selimau from Belarus and Bulgarian Jristo Diyanov could be just as dangerous, while Russia and Iran’s representatives should not be taken lightly.

Russian Ambako Vachadze could be a problem for Isaac, along with Georgian, Manujar Tsajadaia and South Korean Kim Hyeon-Woo.

In the freestyle, only Pinar del Río’s Liván López (66) has a reasonable chance of winning a medal, given his bronze in Istanbul. Standing in his way are Iran’s Mhedi Kermani, Cabrayil Hasanov from Azerbaijan and the Japanese wrestler Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu, who all won two medals during the last four-year period.

Completing the talented Cuban team is Yowlys Bonne (60) from Guantánamo and Catherine Videaux (63) from Holguin, who have yet to win medals but who have made great progress physically and technically.

These two must respectively get past Russia’s Besik Kudujov, winner of three World Championships and Kaori Icho from Japan, with the last two titles under her belt.