Havana, Cuba - Worthy heirs of their people and determined to defend and keep the national flag high, Cuba's disabled athletes were officially bid farewell on Thursday to participate in the 15th Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

London runner-up in 2012 and world record holder of the 100m freestyle, S6 category, Lorenzo Perez, read the oath during the ceremony held at the Jose Marti Memorial in Revolution Square.

Prior to the reading of the oath, Olga Lidia Tapia, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, gave medal-winning runner Omara Durand, accompanied by sprinter Lenier Savon and discus thrower Leonardo Diaz, the Cuban flag the athletes will take to the Paralympics.

Sprinter Yunidis Castillo, five times gold medal winner in these competitions, and judoka Jorge Hierrezuelo, gold medalist in London 2012, laid a wreath at the monument to National Hero Jose Marti.

Also attending the ceremony were Antonio Becali, president of the Cuban Sports Institute (INDER); Mabel Ballesteros, president of the ACLIFIM ( Cuban Association of the Physically Impaired and Persons with Motor Problems); and Jorge Luis Cala, vice-president of the ANCI (National Association of the Blind), along with other guests and sports stars.