Nelson Évora facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
GCIH
Nelson Évora

Nélson Évora in 2015
Personal information
Nationality	Portuguese
Born	(1984-04-20) 20 April 1984 (age 41) Ouragahio, Ivory Coast
Height	1.83 m
Weight	76 kg
Sport
Country	Portugal
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Triple jump
Club	FC Barcelona
Coached by	Iván Pedroso
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Triple jump World Championships Gold 2007 Osaka Triple jump Silver 2009 Berlin Triple jump Bronze 2015 Beijing Triple jump Bronze 2017 London Triple jump World Indoor Championships Bronze 2008 Valencia Triple jump Bronze 2018 Birmingham Triple jump World Indoor Tour Winner 2018 Triple jump European Championships Gold 2018 Berlin Triple jump European Indoor Championships Gold 2015 Prague Triple jump Gold 2017 Belgrade Triple jump Silver 2019 Glasgow Triple jump Universiade Gold 2009 Belgrade Triple jump Gold 2011 Shenzhen Triple jump Lusophony Games Gold 2006 Lusophony Games 16.30 m Gold 2009 Lusophony Games 17.15 m

Nelson Évora (born 20 April 1984) is a famous Portuguese track and field athlete who is an expert in the triple jump. He was born in the Ivory Coast and has family roots in Cape Verde.

Évora is one of the top triple jumpers of his time. He has won gold medals at the Olympic Games, the World Championships, and the European Championships. He also won a title at the European Indoor Championships.

He represents Portugal in international events and competes for the FC Barcelona athletics club. Before 2002, he represented Cape Verde, but he became a Portuguese citizen that year.

Early Life and Start in Athletics

Nelson Évora was born in Ouragahio, a town in the Ivory Coast. His parents were from Cape Verde, a group of islands off the coast of West Africa. When Nelson was five, his family moved to Portugal. He still holds the national records for Cape Verde in both the long jump and the triple jump.

In Portugal, his family lived in the town of Odivelas. By chance, they lived in the apartment above João Ganço, a former Portuguese high jump champion. Nelson became best friends with João's son, Davide.

One day, João Ganço saw the boys playing in the street. He suggested that Nelson should try athletics, just like his friend Davide. That was the beginning of Évora's amazing career in sports, with João Ganço as his first coach.

Évora is a member of the Baháʼí Faith.

A Champion's Career

Évora's journey to the top of the sports world was filled with hard work and big achievements. He started competing in major events in the early 2000s.

Rising to the Top

In 2004, Évora competed in the Olympic Games in Athens, but he did not make it to the final round. Two years later, at the 2006 European Athletics Championships, he showed great promise. He finished fourth in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump.

The year 2007 was a major breakthrough for him. On August 27, at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan, Évora became the world champion in the triple jump. He jumped 17.74 meters, which was his personal best and a new Portuguese record.

Olympic and World Glory

In 2008, Évora continued to succeed. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Later that year, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, he had his greatest moment. On August 21, he won the Olympic gold medal with a jump of 17.67 meters.

The next year, at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, he competed against his rival, Phillips Idowu from Great Britain. Évora took an early lead, but Idowu jumped farther in a later round. Évora finished with a silver medal, proving he was still one of the best in the world.

Later Career and Club Teams

Throughout his career, Évora has competed for several famous sports clubs. He was with FC Porto from 2002 to 2004, then with SL Benfica from 2004 to 2016. After that, he joined Sporting Clube de Portugal until 2020. Since 2020, he has been an athlete for FC Barcelona.

Even in his later years, Évora continued to win medals. He won gold at the 2015 European Indoor Championships and again in 2017. In 2018, he became the European Champion in Berlin, adding another major gold medal to his collection.

Personal Bests

Évora competing at the 2009 World Championships, where he won a silver medal.

• High jump – 2.07 meters (2005)
• Long jump – 8.10 meters (2007)
• Triple jump – 17.74 meters (2007)

International Competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Portugal
2001	European Youth Olympic Festival	Murcia, Spain	1st	Long jump	7.49 m
2002	World Junior Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	18th (q)	Long jump	7.28 m (+0.7 m/s)
			6th	Triple jump	15.87 m (-0.2 m/s)
2003	European Junior Championships	Tampere, Finland	1st	Long jump	7.83 m
			6th	Triple jump	16.43 m
2004	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	10th (q)	Triple jump	16.30 m
	Ibero-American Championships	Huelva, Spain	7th	Triple jump	15.56 m
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	23rd (q)	Triple jump	15.72 m
2005	European U23 Championships	Erfurt, Germany	3rd	Triple jump	16.89 m (+1.9 m/s)
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	14th (q)	Triple jump	16.60 m
2006	World Indoor Championships	Moscow, Russia	6th	Triple jump	17.14 m
	European Cup First League	Thessaloniki, Greece	1st	Long jump	8.05 m (0.0 m/s)
			2nd	Triple jump	17.03 m w (+2.5 m/s)
	European Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	6th	Long jump	7.91 m
			4th	Triple jump	17.07 m
	Lusophony Games	Macau, China	1st	Triple jump	16.30 m
2007	European Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	5th	Triple jump	16.97 m
	European Cup First League	Milan, Italy	1st	Long jump	8.10 m (-0.9 m/s)
			1st	Triple jump	17.35 m w (+2.4 m/s)
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	1st	Triple jump	17.74 m NR
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	3rd	Triple jump	17.30 m
2008	World Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	3rd	Triple jump	17.27 m
	European Cup First League	Leiria, Portugal	1st	Long jump	7.88 m (0.0 m/s)
			1st	Triple jump	16.91 m (+0.8 m/s)
	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	1st	Triple jump	17.67 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	1st	Triple jump	17.24 m
2009	European Team Championships	Leiria, Portugal	2nd	Long jump	7.94 m
			1st	Triple jump	17.59 m
	Universiade	Belgrade, Serbia	1st	Triple jump	17.22 m
	Lusophony Games	Lisbon, Portugal	1st	Triple jump	17.15 m
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	2nd	Triple jump	17.55 m
2011	European Team Championships	Stockholm, Sweden	6th	Triple jump	16.33 m
	Universiade	Shenzhen, China	1st	Triple jump	17.31 m
	World Championships	Daegu, Korea	5th	Triple jump	17.35 m
2014	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	6th	Triple jump	16.78 m
2015	European Indoor Championships	Prague, Czech Republic	1st	Triple jump	17.21 m
	World Championships	Beijing, China	3rd	Triple jump	17.52 m
2016	World Indoor Championships	Portland, United States	4th	Triple jump	16.89 m
	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	17th (q)	Triple jump	16.27 m
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	6th	Triple jump	17.03 m SB
2017	European Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	1st	Triple jump	17.20 m
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	3rd	Triple jump	17.19 m
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	3rd	Triple jump	17.40 m
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	1st	Triple jump	17.10 m
2019	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	2nd	Triple jump	17.11 m
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	15th (q)	Triple jump	16.80 m
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	27th (q)	Triple jump	15.39 m

National Honors

For his amazing achievements in sports, Nelson Évora has received some of Portugal's highest honors.

• Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (2015): This is one of Portugal's most important awards, given to people who have done great things for the country.
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (2018): This award recognizes people for their valuable service to the Portuguese community.

See also

In Spanish: Nelson Évora para niños