Guyana’s three-member weightlifting team will depart today for Puerto Rico to participate in the Criollo Cup Weightlifting championships scheduled to open tomorrow.

Deion Nurse, team manager disclosed that all three members of the team were successful in securing US visas following their interviews at the US embassy in Georgetown on Monday.

Nurse, who is also General Secretary of the Guyana Amateur Weightlifting Association (GAWA told Stabroek News on Monday that the team was ready to travel today.

The two participants are Bhojnarine Persaud and Sean Cozier, with Nurse doubling up as manager/coach.

The team is due to travel on Caribbean Airlines for San Juan.

Fazim Abdool, who was scheduled to compete in the 85 kilogramme division , and Farouk Abdool, who was expected to travel as the coach were omitted from the initial squad due to a lack of funds, Nurse disclosed.

Persaud will compete in the 56 kilogramme class while Cozier will battle in the 85 KG division.

The Criollo Cup championships, dubbed the top weightlifting championships in the region outside of the Pan American Games, will take place from October 18-23 in San Juan.

The event, sanctioned by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and the Pan American Weightlifting Federation (PAWF), will attract national lifters from most affiliates of the regional body as well as club teams from the United States and Aruba, an associate member of the PAWF.

Guyana last participated in an international competition two years ago when Cozier and Nurse travelled to the United States to compete in the Pan American Games.