2024-07-08 16:44:21
Text: Raul del Pino
Photo: RRSS
The biggest rivalry that athletics will bring to the Paris Olympic Games already has a script and its protagonists will be two Cubans, although neither defending the flag of the territory where they were born. The future duel between Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Jordan Alejandro Díaz was set up since this Wednesday, when the naturalized Spaniard, in his debut with the colors of his new country, snatched the title of the European Championship from the naturalized Portuguese and current Olympic champion, with no less than the third best triple jump in history.
The competition between the two at the Olympic Stadium in Rome was one of the most improvable of all time in the specialty, not to be absolute and say the best, as never before had two divers surpassed the 18-meter barrier in a major final. There was only one precedent and it occurred at a Diamond League stop almost a decade ago.
But the battle between Pichardo and Jordan went beyond the sporting level. The clash was marked by prior statements to the press and even a clash in the dining room of the hotel where the Spanish and Portuguese teams are staying, the day before the medals were to be discussed. Raised words, tense glances less than a meter away, and the timely intervention of another Cuban, this one naturalized in Azerbaijan, Alexis Copello, to calm things down.
The fever did not end there, it was transferred to the track and the two athletes used it as fuel to perform the best sequences of their careers. Although Pichardo was four centimeters away from his personal best achieved in Cuba nine years ago, his 18.04 meters jump became the third time he has crossed that limit conquered only by a few. In passing, he entered the select club that until yesterday was only occupied by the British world record holder Jonathan Edwards and the American Christian Taylor, the only other two jumpers to record three marks of 18 meters or more.
Pichardo himself probably didn’t know the above information, but he was almost certain that this sequence would allow him to retain the European crown that he had already won at the continental competition in Munich 2022. In the history of the triple jump, only 14 jumps of 18 metres had been made, and three of them were his. To make matters worse, his young and talkative rival – the Portuguese would think – had barely accumulated any international experience and already had enough pressure with his debut wearing the Spanish shirt.
Quite the contrary. Jordan Díaz was not affected by any of this. One, two, three… four jumps, each one better than the last. An idyllic competition for the 23-year-old from Havana who could not even in his wildest dreams have imagined that he would beat his fellow countryman and bitter rival in this way. After an acceptable 17.56 to open, he followed up with a 17.82 that was five centimetres away from the Spanish record that he had held since 2022. With this result, his performance could be considered very good, knowing at that point that Pichardo had already flown over 18 metres.
But Jordan wanted more and achieved more. Fourth attempt and 17.96. New Spanish record in the specialty just a month and a half before the Olympic Games. The challenge was set for Paris, although the one in Rome was won by Pichardo. Nothing of the sort. Fifth jump by the Cuban-Spaniard… and during the flight the electronic meter at the foot of the sandbox turns off. Hands on head, seconds of waiting and the stadium scoreboard shows the historic record: 18.18 meters for Jordan Díaz, third best of all time.
While Iván Pedroso’s pupil was celebrating euphorically with his trainer, also Cuban, the television cameras were filming close-ups of Pichardo’s sunken gaze. However, the man from Santiago did not give up and went in search of the dream. Although he fell short, he managed a very decent 17.92 with which he would have won most of the competitions he has participated in in his life.
End of the story? If the magnificent evening under the Roman sky was followed by hundreds of chronicles and reports of what happened there, Pedro Pablo Pichardo seems to have been unable to deal with the frustration of having lost to the boy from his own country of origin who had previously – apparently – publicly humiliated him.
The third chapter of the soap opera between the two triple jumpers continued on Thursday, when the Eugene 2022 world champion publicly questioned on his social networks the legitimacy of his Spanish opponent’s jump the night before. “I would like @europeanathletics, @worldathletics and the referees in charge to give a response and a quick explanation about what happened in the jump rule at the moment when the Spanish athlete made that great mark,” he asked on his Instagram account where he posted a video of the aforementioned moment where the digital board next to the box goes off.
Pichardo continued his argument by pointing out that “in a competition of this level it is not normal to make a great mark when the electronic ruler turns off. The athlete is already coming out of the sandbox celebrating without even being aware of where he had landed since the ruler was already off, but it seems that he already knew that he had overtaken me even before the medication and without the electronic ruler being on. We athletes know that without any reference it is difficult to know if it was a good jump or not, but he already knew it!!! Why did it turn on in his 17.96 m and not in the big jump? One minute after his big jump the ruler started working again and coincidentally I was the next to jump. How is that possible? Why did the electronic ruler turn off at that moment? How do we know that it was really 18.18 m?” he questioned.
Regardless of whether or not he is right in his claims, something that both the governing bodies of European and world athletics, the two he cites, will have to deal with, it is a very rare fact that an athlete of Pichardo’s level, who has been the best in his specialty in the last five years, where he has won the two fundamental competitions of the cycle: the Olympic Games held in 2021, and the World Championships in 2022, is involved in behavior of this type that does not leave him in a good position.
Before launching an accusation of such magnitude, he should have some conclusive evidence, and by not showing it, it seems that this is not the case. For the thousands and thousands of people on the planet who are enjoying this show, the image of Pichardo, despite his enormous talent and prestige achieved to date, will now be that of a frustrated athlete who does not know how to accept defeat. To top it off, Jordan himself responded with a story on his social networks where he used several crying emoticons. Words are unnecessary.
The media, however, have plenty of fuel to further ignite this fire that will reach its climax on Friday, August 9 at the Stade de France, the agreed venue for the Olympic triple jump final. If both teams finally make it to the final – as the entire world expects – then we will know how this battle between Cubans under another flag ends.