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 53) 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 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.

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.

Aldama at a parade in 2012.

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
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