He takes his third consecutive world title with the sixth best grade of all time despite “not being one of my best days”
“It hasn’t been one of my best days, I wanted a better grade,” was Yulimar Rojas’ first evaluation at the end of the triple, adding another title to that huge trajectory of wins and records he’s built since then. . 2016. In reality, the Venezuelan won in Eugene thanks to a second jump of 15.47 meters, the sixth best figure ever. Only Inessa Kravets, who was cleared from the lists in Tokyo, has been able to jump more than Iván Pedroso’s apprentice, a luxury for the fans who are there full of anticipation and hold their breath at every attempt by the flying Venezuelan.
But Rojas wanted more. Actually two things. On the one hand, he dreams of the 16-meter barrier and works every day to overcome it. He is 15.74 meters and some of his jumps have made it clear that there is a jump to another dimension in his legs. But on the other hand, he was looking for another dream that was taken from him during a match in Guadalajara, where he trains with Pedroso. She wanted to compete against the best in the long jump, but after achieving the minimum – she jumped 6.93 meters – her record was smashed because she jumped with triple shoes, not allowed in the long jump. “The soles of the long jump shoes are 20 millimeters compared to the 25 used in the triple jump,” explains World Athletic.
The fact is that Rojas is still disappointed not to be able to attempt a historic double, leaving Oregon with her third world title and unreachable for the rest of the entrants since she suffered her last defeat in a major event against Catherine Ibarguen in Rio 2016. The data reflecting his superiority is marked by second place in Eugene de Shanieka Rickets, who jumped 14.89, half a meter from Rojas, and third was Tori Franklin with a jump of 14.72. At this point, we must not forget that Ana Peleteiro, on maternity leave, was bronze at the Games with 14.87…
“At least I wanted to break the championship record (15.50), but Budapest – World Cup 2023 – is just around the corner and we have to focus on that. My main goal is the 16m and I know I’m close,” Rojas insisted, admitting that “this gold is a reward for perseverance and it will be because I haven’t been able to fight as much as I would have liked. “after an injury.
Yulimar could have been a volleyball player or a high jumper, but luckily she chose athletics, where she is a global star, although she does not forget her humble origins. He grew up near Pozuelos, on the outskirts of Puerto La Cruz (Anzoátegui, Venezuela). Little Yulimar loved all sports, until she noticed volleyball. She was 13 years old and Yulimar fell in love with this sport when she saw the Venezuelan men’s and women’s teams qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But it was Jesús Velásquez, athletics coach, who noticed Yulimar’s talent and convinced him that athletics was his thing, although his first contact was in the high jump, where he jumped 1.89. He even won gold at the 2014 South American Games, but that year he decided to switch to triple with Velásquez. “They said we were crazy,” the technician recalls. “The madness was good. We did height, 100 meters, length, triple and we stayed with the last one. I fell madly in love with the triple. It has been the best decision of my life,” said Rojas some time ago.
The last and decisive step remained for this 1.93 tall Venezuelan to evolve into the best. “I wanted to train with Iván Pedroso and I contacted him via Facebook. It was quite daring, because I thought he didn’t even know who I was, but I did,” recalls Rojas. Pedroso replied and in 2015 suggested traveling to Spain, to Guadalajara, where he had established his training center. And in 2016, Yulimar Rojas was already there, ready to improve in every way. She integrated perfectly into Team Pedroso, of which she is a fundamental part because of her joy, and five years later Rojas is Olympic champion, three-time world champion and world record holder after a jump of 15.67 and the removal of Inessa Kravets from the lists.
Source: La Verdad
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