Yamilé Aldama facts for kids
![]() Aldama at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
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Born | Havana, Cuba |
14 August 1972 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Country | ![]() |
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Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Triple jump | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal best(s) | 15.29 (Rome 2003) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Updated on 15 August 2012. |
Yamilé Aldama Pozo (born August 14, 1972) is a famous athlete who competes in the triple jump. She has a very interesting career because she has represented three different countries! First, she competed for Cuba until 2003. Then, she represented Sudan from 2004 to 2010. Finally, she competed for Great Britain starting in 2011.
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.
Contents
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. Just two years later, she was good enough to qualify for the 1996 Summer Olympics team. Unfortunately, an injury stopped her from competing there.
Early Career and First Medals
In 1997, Yamilé reached the final at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing in sixth place. Two years later, she won her first major international medal. This was a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain. The next year, at the 2000 Summer Olympics, she finished fourth. This showed everyone she was one of the best triple jumpers in the world.
Changing Countries: A Unique Path
In 2001, Yamilé moved to the United Kingdom. She wanted to represent Great Britain in future competitions, including the 2004 Summer Olympics. To do this, she needed to become a British citizen. She had to wait a certain amount of time to get a passport. Because of this, she did not compete in the 2003 World Championships. She hoped this would help her switch to representing Great Britain.
However, in 2004, her British passport application was not approved in time for the Olympics. Since she moved to Great Britain in November 2001, she would not be eligible for a passport until November 2004. This was three months after the Olympics. So, Yamilé looked for another country to represent. She received offers from Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic. In the end, she decided to represent Sudan.
Competing for Sudan
After becoming a Sudanese citizen in January 2004, Yamilé competed for Sudan. She went to the 2004 Summer Olympics and finished in fifth place. In 2004, she also set a new triple jump record for Sudan, jumping 15.28 meters. She continued to compete for Sudan, taking fourth place at the 2005 World Championships.
Representing Great Britain
On February 5, 2010, almost ten years after she first applied, Yamilé finally became a British citizen. A year later, she competed for Great Britain. She finished fifth at the 2011 World Championships.
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 improved the world record for athletes over 35 years old twice. Later that May, she jumped 14.65 meters at a competition in Rome. She injured her shoulder on that jump. Even with the injury, she competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, finishing fifth. She was almost 40 years old at the time.
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 this event, but she represented England instead.
Major Achievements
Yamilé Aldama has had an amazing career with many achievements. Here are some of her top results:
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
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Representing ![]() |
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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 ![]() |
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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 ![]() |
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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 ![]() |
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2014 | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 7th (q) | Triple jump | 13.29 m |
See also
In Spanish: Yamilé Aldama para niños