2024-07-08 09:52:55
Text: Cuba News 360 Editorial Team
Photo: RRSS
In the midst of the soap opera starring Cuban triple jumpers Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Jordan Díaz, representing Portugal and Spain, respectively, a new promise of athletics on the island has emerged in the figure of the young jumper Hayla González.
Away from the media spotlight that still haunts the two naturalized Cubans after their dispute at the European Championship, the 20-year-old inexperienced athlete achieved a long jump of 6.85 meters that allowed her to take first place in the event at the XXXIII International Athletics Meeting in the City of Guadalajara, Spain.
But perhaps the most remarkable thing about the mark is that it left her just one centimetre away from the minimum required to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games, which also significantly increases her chances of attending the multi-sport event, since almost all the qualified athletes do so by achieving the established goals.
The Havana native’s record is the longest by a Cuban jumper since 2010 and places her in fourth place in the island’s history, only behind Lissete Cuza (6.99), Niurka Montalvo (6.93) and Yargeris Savigne (6.91).
Hayla’s progress from 2023 to date has been excellent, according to the sports publication JIT. The Cuban finished last season with a maximum of 6.53 meters, but in the 2024 Cuba Athletics Cup – held in May – she stretched to 6.65.
The best he achieved on Wednesday, which shattered his personal best by 20 centimetres, places him in 11th place in the world rankings for the current year. But González’s performance was not the only good news for Cuban athletics at the meeting in Guadalajara, where the legend Iván Pedroso and his pupils have their training base.
There, middle-distance runner Saily Diago also won the 800 metres with a time of 2:02.84 minutes, which, although it was her best race of the current season, is still far from the mark set to secure a place at the nearby Parisian festival.
Meanwhile, Yunisleydis de la Caridad García from Villa Clara (11.42 seconds) came in second in the final of the 100 metres. In the previous race she had run somewhat better, clocking 11.36, which is still not close to her times from the previous calendar.
The report adds that Yoandys Lescay from Las Tunas (45.60 seconds) was not able to achieve his most notable time so far this year to be crowned in the return to the oval. This time, the host Hamza Dair (45.54) was slightly ahead of him, and his expected fight with Colombian Anthony Zambrano, Olympic silver medalist in Tokyo 2020, who did not finish the race, was spoiled.
The only Cuban without a podium finish in the Iberian competition was long jumper Maikel Vidal, with a single valid attempt of 6.31 meters. His five consecutive fouls were the best proof of an uncoordinated run that affected his performance, according to the criteria of those who witnessed the competition.