Cato Cubing Cochabamba 2024

The competition hall at Seminario San Luis UCB fell into complete, focused stillness as solvers prepared their memorisation sequences before donning blindfolds. Across June 1 to June 2, 2024, the venue in Cochabamba, Bolivia hosted an intense display of mental discipline and mechanical dexterity. In the high-stakes discipline of blindfolded solving, competitors must study the scrambled puzzle, commit every piece position to memory, and execute the entire solution without a single glance, turning the classic Rubik's Cube into a pure test of recall and spatial orientation.

Rising to the occasion in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, Abdiel Avila Panozo claimed the top spot on the podium. Navigating the immense pressure of the single-round showdown, Avila Panozo logged a winning single time of 2:10.41 to secure the gold medal for Bolivia. Jhoel Manuel Callata Cardoso earned second place with a successful solve of 2:38.00, while Jhersson Cabezas Luizaga rounded out the podium places in a discipline where a single miscalculation leads to an uncompleted solve.

The broader weekend at Cato Cubing Cochabamba 2024 brought together a field of 52 competitors contesting 10 events across 19 rounds of official action. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, 50 competitors battled through three rounds of standard speedcubing. Fabricio Andrés Yañez Terrazas emerged victorious, putting together an impressive final winning average of 9.81 seconds, backed by a best single of 6.72 seconds. The 3x3 results saw Callata Cardoso secure second place with a 10.27 average, followed closely by Nicolás Arispe Valda in third at 10.98.

Fabricio Andrés Yañez Terrazas doubled his gold medal tally in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, commanding two rounds of competition to win with an average of 15.78 seconds and a single of 14.04. Callata Cardoso secured another silver finish with a 16.29 average, while Rodrigo Ugarte took the third spot on the podium at 19.40. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Rodrigo Mateo Inochea Fernández captured the title with a swift 3.47 final average, prevailing over Cabezas Luizaga at 3.87 and Callata Cardoso at 3.99.

Away from the top steps of the podium, Cato Cubing Cochabamba 2024 showcased remarkable personal milestones across the community. Nicolás Mendoza Peña tackled three events, entering 3x3x3 One-Handed for the first time with a 1:10.25 single, making a debut in the 2x2x2 Cube at 6.88, and crushing his previous 3x3x3 Cube mark by 65.7 percent with a new personal best of 31.02. Jhohanes Nils Colque Rubin de Celis made a first career attempt at Pyraminx with an 11.54 single, while lowering his 2x2x2 Cube best by 60.3 percent to 4.80 and improving his 3x3x3 Cube time by 36 percent to 33.03. Marianela Fernández Mamani took on eight separate events over the weekend, logging initial career attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 6:23.57 and 4x4x4 Cube at 2:40.96, alongside a 20 percent improvement in 3x3x3 One-Handed down to 1:07.90. Leonardo Gabriel Ovirece Figueroa secured new event debuts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 31.77 and 2x2x2 Cube at 5.92, while dropping his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 38.8 percent down to 15.67.

Progress continued throughout the roster at this cubing competition. Johann Alejandro Zamorano Rodriguez contested five events, making first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed with 54.11 and 4x4x4 Cube with 1:50.71, in addition to trimming 20.3 percent from his 2x2x2 Cube mark to reach 5.51. Franco Alexander Paredes Paco delivered major strides across two events, dropping his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 51 percent to 8.62 and his 3x3x3 Cube best by 39.2 percent to 39.18. Jhonatan Bernabé Flores entered three events, registering first-time marks of 3.71 in 2x2x2 Cube and 30.05 in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Meanwhile, Leonardo David Gonzales Ajata improved across three disciplines, cutting 30.4 percent from his 2x2x2 Cube best to hit 7.55, improving his 3x3x3 Cube by 14.9 percent to 36.76, and shaving time in 3x3x3 One-Handed to 1:41.13.

The large cube categories featured an exceptional display of endurance and puzzle mastery from Daniel Delgado Candia, who swept the biggest events on the schedule. In the 5x5x5 Cube, Delgado Candia took first place with a 1:11.28 average ahead of Yañez Terrazas at 1:12.19 and Peru's Joseph Daniel Blas Sanchez at 1:13.04. Delgado Candia then secured victory in the 6x6x6 Cube with a 2:11.75 average and completed the sweep in the 7x7x7 Cube with a mark of 3:12.20, with Yañez Terrazas finishing runner-up in both contests.

Mid-sized and side events brought additional excitement to the speed cubing programme. Rodrigo Ugarte captured the 4x4x4 Cube championship, posting a winning average of 41.55 seconds to lead Yañez Terrazas at 43.91 and Delgado Candia at 44.08. Jhersson Cabezas Luizaga claimed the Pyraminx title with an average of 4.84 seconds across two rounds, while Abner Aron Angulo Ledezma won the single-round Square-1 event in 18.52 seconds.

The tournament served as a vibrant WCA competition, concluding with Bolivian competitors claiming 29 podium spots alongside one podium finish for Peru. From the quiet tension of blindfolded solving to the frantic pace of the short puzzles, Cato Cubing Cochabamba 2024 highlighted the diverse talents of solvers gathering in Cochabamba, setting a solid foundation as competitors look forward to the next season of competitive solving.