Caterine Ibargüen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Caterine Ibargüen

Ibargüen at the 2015 World Championships
Personal information
Nationality	Colombian
Born	(1984-02-12) 12 February 1984 (age 41) Apartadó, Antioquia, Colombia
Height	1.85 m
Weight	65 kg
Sport
Country	Colombia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	High jump Long jump Triple jump Heptathlon
Coached by	Ubaldo Duany
Retired	2021
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	High jump: 1.93 (2005) Long jump: 6.93 NR (2018) Triple jump: 15.31 NR (2014) Heptathlon: 5742 (2009)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Colombia Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 1 0 World Championships 2 1 2 Continental Cup 3 0 0 Pan American Games 2 0 1 CAC Games 3 4 1 Bolivarian Games 5 2 0 Olympic Games Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Triple jump Silver 2012 London Triple jump World Championships Gold 2013 Moscow Triple jump Gold 2015 Beijing Triple jump Silver 2017 London Triple jump Bronze 2011 Daegu Triple jump Bronze 2019 Doha Triple jump Pan American Games Gold 2011 Guadalajara Triple jump Gold 2015 Toronto Triple jump Bronze 2011 Guadalajara Long jump Central American and Caribbean Games Gold 2014 Veracruz Triple jump Gold 2018 Barranquilla Long jump Gold 2018 Barranquilla Triple jump Silver 2002 San Salvador Triple jump Silver 2006 Cartagena High jump Silver 2006 Cartagena Long jump Silver 2010 Mayagüez Triple jump Bronze 2002 San Salvador High jump Bolivarian Games Gold 2001 Ambato High jump Gold 2005 Armenia-Pereira High jump Gold 2005 Armenia-Pereira Long jump Gold 2009 Sucre High jump Gold 2009 Sucre Long jump Silver 2005 Armenia-Pereira Triple jump Silver 2009 Sucre Triple jump CAC Junior Championships (U20) Silver 2002 Bridgetown High jump Bronze 2002 Bridgetown Triple jump Representing Americas Continental Cup Gold 2014 Marrakech Triple jump Gold 2018 Ostrava Long jump Gold 2018 Ostrava Triple jump

Caterine Ibargüen Mena is a famous retired athlete from Colombia. She was born on February 12, 1984. Caterine is known for her amazing skills in high jump, long jump, and especially the triple jump. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She also earned two gold medals at the World Athletics Championships. Caterine is a true champion in the world of athletics!

Caterine's Early Life and Training

Caterine grew up in the Urabá region of Antioquia, Colombia. Her grandmother raised her after her parents separated. This happened because of the conflict in Colombia at the time. Her father moved to Venezuela, and her mother went to Turbo, Colombia.

Caterine first loved playing volleyball. Her coach, Wilder Zapata, saw how talented she was. He suggested she move to Medellín to train more seriously. Medellín had a great sports center called the Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex. In 1996, she started training there with a Cuban coach named Jorge Luis Alfaro. She began to focus on the high jump.

Becoming a Champion Jumper

Caterine became very good at jumping. Her best high jump was 1.93 meters, which she achieved in Cali in 2005. This is still the record for Colombia! She competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

She also set a South American record in the triple jump with a distance of 15.31 meters in 2014. This was the best triple jump in the world since the 2008 Olympics for a long time. Later, another athlete named Yulimar Rojas broke this record.

In 2011, Caterine won a bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. She jumped 14.84 meters in the triple jump. She trained in Puerto Rico with her coach, Ubaldo Duany. He was also a great long jumper.

Olympic and World Championship Success

Caterine's career was full of big wins. In 2012, she won a silver medal at the London Olympics. She made an amazing 14.80-meter triple jump on her very last try!

The next year, in 2013, she won her first gold medal at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. She jumped 14.85 meters. She continued to dominate the triple jump.

In 2015, she won another gold medal at the World Championships in Beijing, China. Her biggest achievement came in 2016. She won the gold medal in the triple jump at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics! This was a huge moment for her and for Colombia.

She continued to win medals, including a silver at the 2017 World Championships in London and a bronze at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Caterine's Retirement

Caterine Ibargüen officially announced her retirement from athletics in August 2021. She left behind an incredible legacy as one of the best triple jumpers in history.

Caterine's Best Jumps

Caterine achieved some amazing distances in her career. These are her personal bests:

• High jump: 1.93 meters (in Cali, 2005)
• Long jump: 6.93 meters (in Ostrava, 2018) - This is a Colombian record!
• Triple jump: 15.31 meters (in Monaco, 2014) - This was a Colombian record for a long time!

Awards and Recognition

Caterine Ibargüen has received many honors for her achievements:

• She was given the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit by Colombia in 2018. This is a very high honor!
• In 2018, she was named the IAAF Female Athlete of the Year. This means she was recognized as the best female athlete in the world by the international athletics organization.

See also

In Spanish: Caterine Ibargüen para niños