If there were no doubts before the beginning of the Olympic Games in Tokyo that Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas would be the star of the event, especially when she set a new Olympic record in triple jump at 15,41 meters, otherLatin American track and field athletes also had outstanding performances in the games.
In the list of Latin American men and women there are three Cubans included in the best of the best of our region for their dedication and sacrifice as well as their results.
Yulimar Rojas: Venezuela –Triple jump
With the gold medal in the pocket since her first attempt (15,41m, Olympic record), Yulimar Rojas faced history.
The Venezuelan athlete was rounding the 15,50 meters of InessaKravets, a record that has been valid since two months before she was born in August 1995. In the last attempt of the trial, when she finally managed to adjust the plank, she flew away. “I was going to give my all in the last jump and so I did,” she said: 15,67 meters, world record and Olympic gold.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn: Puerto Rico – 100 meterswithhurdles
Five years after saying goodbye to Rio 2016 with tears in her eyes due to a stumble in the 100 meters with hurdles, Camacho-Quinn completed her particular make-up run in Tokyo 2020. The Puerto Rican athlete, who have won all the competitions she had taken part in 2021, set a new Olympic record in the semi-finals (12,26 seconds) and took the gold in the finals.
Anthony Zambrano: Colombia - 400 m
Zambrano went to Tokyo 2020 as one of the fastest men in the world, one of the firmest candidates to win medals among the Latin American athletes and he did not disappoint. The Colombian, runner-up of the world in the 400 meters in the World Championship 2019, repeated his deed in the Olympic Games.
Zambrano, who showed he was not playing in the semi-finals when he broke the South American record, won the second place with a time of 44,08 seconds, only outrun by Bahamian Steven Gardiner.“The more you polish a rough diamond, the more it shines,” he said in an interview a year ago.In the Olympic stadium, he shone more than ever.
Juan Miguel Echevarría, MaykelMassó: Cuba –Long Jump
It seemed that Juan Miguel Echeverría had the gold secured in the male finals of long jump until, in the last attempt, Greek MiltiadisTentoglouequaled his mark of 8,41 meters. The tie meant that the victory would be determined with the second best jump and there was no doubt: all the valid attempts of the Greek exceed the second best register of the Cuban, who ended up winning the silver medal.
However, Echevarria, who has recently turned 23 years old, has an enviable list of achievements so far: champion in covered track (2018), champion in the Pan American Games (2019), bronze in the outdoor world championship (2019) and silver in this Olympic Games. Following in his footsteps is MaykelMassó, a year younger, who, despite being injured and been able to jump only in two attempts, won the bronze with 8,21 meters.
MarileidyPaulino: Dominican Republic - 400 m
It’s been only a year since MarileidyPaulinostarted to focus exclusively on the 400m and her results in Tokyo 2020 could not have been better. The sprinter, who took part in the 100m and 200m events in the Athletics World Championship in 2019, becomes the first athlete of the Dominican Republic to win two medals in an Olympic Game.
Paulinowas part of the new 4x400 mix relay that won silver medal when they surpassed the U.S. team in the finish line. She later exceeded the legendary Allyson Felix, and won silver in the 400 meters for women, only preceded by Miller-Uibo, champion in Río2016.
Sandra Arenas: Colombia - 20 km walk
The Colombian walker arrived to Tokyo 2020 in good shape. She had shown what to expect at the Sergio Vázquez Trophy, where she had beaten rivals that would also be at the Olympic Games. And in Odori Park, in Sapporo, she confirmed all the good vibes by taking home the silver medal.
It was the third Olympic Games for Arenas, who ended 30thin London 2012 and 32nd in Rio 2016. In this Olympic cycle she had won the Pan American Games in 2019 and she had ended fifth in the world championships of 2017 and 2019. Japan was the cherry on top on the cake.
Yaimé Pérez: Cuba - Discus
Yaimé Pérez arrived in Tokyo 2020 as the reigning world champion and number one in the world ranking. And although she could not live up to her condition of favorite, she climbed the podium to collect the bronze medal, the first Olympic medal of her career.
Pérez won over the twice Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic (Croacia), but she could not beat Valarie Allman (United States) or Kristin Pudenz (Germany). However, she keeps getting better: she did not pass the qualification round in London 2012; she ended 12th in Rio 2016 and she won her first medal in Tokyo 2020.
Translatedby ESTI
