Yamilé Aldama facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yamilé Aldama

Aldama at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
Personal information
Born	(1972-08-14) 14 August 1972 (age 52) Havana, Cuba
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Weight	62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
Country	Great Britain
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Triple jump
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	15.29 (Rome 2003)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd IAAF World Outdoor / Indoor Championships 1 2 1 IAAF World Athletics Final / World Cup 0 1 4 Pan-American Games 1 0 0 Africa Games / Championships 3 1 0 CAC Games / Championships / U20s 2 1 1 Ibero-American / Pan Arab Games 2 2 0 Total 9 7 6 Representing  Cuba /  Sudan /  Great Britain World Championships Silver 1999 Seville Triple jump World Indoor Championships Gold 2012 Istanbul Triple jump Silver 2004 Budapest Triple jump Bronze 2006 Moscow Triple jump Pan-American Games Gold 1999 Winnipeg Triple jump All-Africa Games Gold 2007 Algiers Triple jump African Championships Gold 2004 Brazzaville Triple jump Gold 2006 Bambous Triple jump Silver 2008 Addis Ababa Triple jump CAC Championships Silver 1997 San Juan Triple jump CAC Games Gold 1998 Maracaibo Triple jump Pan-Arab Games Silver 2007 Cairo High jump Silver 2007 Cairo Triple jump Ibero-American Championships Gold 1996 Medellín Triple jump Gold 1998 Lisbon Triple jump
Updated on 15 August 2012.

Yamilé Aldama Pozo (born August 14, 1972) is a famous athlete who specializes in the triple jump. She has represented three different countries during her career: Cuba until 2003, Sudan from 2004 to 2010, and then Great Britain from 2011 onwards. Yamilé is a four-time Olympian, meaning she competed in the Olympic Games four times between 2000 and 2012. She won a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2012 World Indoor Championships.

Yamilé Aldama's Athletic Journey

Yamilé Aldama was born in Havana, Cuba. She started her athletic career competing in high jump and heptathlon events. In 1994, she discovered the triple jump, which became her main event. Just two years later, she qualified for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Unfortunately, an injury kept her from competing there.

In 1997, she made it to the final of the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing in sixth place. Two years later, she won her first major international medal: a silver at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, she showed her skill by finishing fourth, proving she was one of the best triple jumpers in the world.

Changing Countries: From Cuba to Great Britain

In 2001, Yamilé married Andrew Dodds, a television producer from Scotland, and moved to the United Kingdom. She wanted to become a British citizen so she could represent Great Britain in future competitions, especially the 2004 Summer Olympics. To get a British passport, she needed to live in the UK for three years. This meant she couldn't compete in the 2003 World Championships because it might have made it harder to switch her country.

Aldama at a parade in 2012.

However, in 2004, her British passport application was delayed. She wouldn't be eligible until November 2004, which was after the Olympics. So, Yamilé looked for another country to represent. She received offers from Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic, but she chose to represent Sudan.

After becoming a Sudanese citizen on January 23, 2004, she competed for Sudan at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where she finished fifth. In the same year, she set a new Sudanese triple jump record of 15.28 meters. She continued to compete for Sudan, finishing fourth at the 2005 World Championships.

Representing Great Britain and Later Career

On February 5, 2010, almost ten years after her first application, Yamilé finally became a British citizen. A year later, representing Great Britain, she finished fifth at the 2011 World Championships.

A big moment in her career came on March 9, 2012. At 39 years old, Yamilé Aldama became the IAAF World Indoor Champion in Triple Jump in Istanbul, Turkey. She was the second oldest athlete ever to win this title! She even broke the Masters W35 record (for athletes over 35) twice during this competition. Later that May, she set the current record for her age group with a jump of 14.65 meters. She competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, just before her 40th birthday, and finished fifth despite an injury.

In October 2012, Yamilé received the "Inspiration award" from the British Athletics Writers' Association. She also placed third for "British Athlete of the Year."

In January 2013, Yamilé decided to represent Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. This would have made her the first athlete to compete for four different nations. She did compete in the event, but she represented England instead.

Achievements and Medals

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Cuba
1988	CAC Junior Championships (U-20)	Nassau, Bahamas	1st	High jump	1.78 m
			4th	Long jump	5.48 m
1990	CAC Junior Championships (U-20)	Havana, Cuba	3rd	High jump	1.70 m
1996	Ibero-American Championships	Medellín, Colombia	1st	Triple jump	14.39 m CR
1997	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	6th	Triple jump	14.28 m
	Central American and Caribbean Championships	San Juan, Puerto Rico	2nd	Triple jump	14.12 m w
	World Championships	Athens, Greece	13th (q)	Triple jump	14.09 m   (0.0 m/s)
1998	Ibero-American Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	1st	Triple jump	14.07 m
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Maracaibo, Venezuela	1st	Triple jump	14.34 m
	World Cup	Johannesburg, South Africa	3rd	Triple jump	14.29 m  (0.6 m/s)
1999	World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	7th	Triple jump	14.47 m
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	2nd	Triple jump	14.61 m   (−0.4 m/s)
	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Munich, Germany	7th	Triple jump	14.18 m   (−0.2 m/s)
	Pan American Games	Winnipeg, Canada	1st	Triple jump	14.77 m CR
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney	4th	Triple jump	14.30 m   (−0.9 m/s)
2003	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	2nd	Triple jump	14.99 m   (0.2 m/s)
Representing  Sudan
2004	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd	Triple jump	14.90 m
	African Championships	Brazzaville, Congo	1st	Triple jump	14.90 m
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	5th	Triple jump	14.99 m   (0.1 m/s)
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	3rd	Triple jump	14.92 m   (0.2 m/s)
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	4th	Triple jump	14.72 m   (0.8 m/s)
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	6th	Triple jump	14.26 m   (0.8 m/s)
2006	World Indoor Championships	Moscow, Russia	3rd	Triple jump	14.86 m
	African Championships	Bambous, Mauritius	1st	Triple jump	14.71 m w   (2.6 m/s)
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	3rd	Triple jump	14.67 m   (−0.1 m/s)
	World Cup	Athens, Greece	3rd	Triple jump	14.78 m   (1.0 m/s)
2007	All-Africa Games	Algiers, Algeria	1st	Triple jump	14.46 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	4th	Triple jump	14.41 m   (0.3 m/s)
	Pan Arab Games	Cairo, Egypt	2nd	High jump	1.77 m
			2nd	Long jump	6.05 m
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	12th (q)	Triple jump	13.46 m   (−0.2 m/s)
2008	World Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	5th	Triple jump	14.47 m
	African Championships	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	2nd	Triple jump	14.36 m SB
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	13th (q)	Triple jump	14.11 m   (0.1 m/s)
	World Athletics Final	Thessaloniki, Greece	4th	Triple jump	14.39 m   (−1.0 m/s)
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	19th (q)	Triple jump	12.41 m
Representing  Great Britain
2011	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	5th	Triple jump	14.50 m   (0.4 m/s)
2012	World Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	1st	Triple jump	14.82 m
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	5th	Triple jump	14.48 m   (−0.6 m/s)
2013	European Indoor Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	6th	Triple jump	13.95 m
	European Team Championships	Gateshead, United Kingdom	4th	Triple jump	13.90 m +1.7
2014	European Team Championships	Braunschweig, Germany	6th	Triple jump	13.31 m +0.4
Representing  England
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, United Kingdom	7th (q)	Triple jump	13.29 m

See also

In Spanish: Yamilé Aldama para niños