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Yamilé Aldama facts for kids

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Yamilé Aldama
Yamilé Aldama Istanbul 2012.jpg
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+12 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.

Yamile Aldama - 2012 Parade
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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Yamilé Aldama para niños

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