Yulimar Rojas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yulimar Rojas

Rojas in 2019
Personal information
Born	(1995-10-21) 21 October 1995 (age 29) Caracas, Venezuela
Height	1.92 m
Weight	72 kg
Sport
Country	Venezuela
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Triple jump, long jump
Team	FC Barcelona Athletics
Coached by	Iván Pedroso
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	1st (2023)
Personal best(s)	Outdoor Triple jump: 15.67 m (51 ft 4.80413386 in) WR (Tokyo 2021) Long jump: 7.27 m (23 ft 10.09547244 in) w (La Nucia 2021) 6.88 m (22 ft 6.74114174 in) NR (La Nucia 2021) Indoor Triple jump: 15.74 m (51 ft 7.56003937 in) i WR (Belgrade 2022) Long jump: 6.81 m (22 ft 3.98523622 in) i NR (Liévin 2022)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Venezuela Olympic Games Gold 2020 Tokyo Triple jump Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro Triple jump World Championships Gold 2017 London Triple jump Gold 2019 Doha Triple jump Gold 2022 Eugene Triple jump Gold 2023 Budapest Triple jump World Indoor Championships Gold 2016 Portland Triple jump Gold 2018 Birmingham Triple jump Gold 2022 Belgrade Triple jump Diamond League 2021 Triple jump 2022 Triple jump 2023 Triple jump Pan American Games Gold 2019 Lima Triple jump South American Games Gold 2014 Santiago High jump South American Championships Gold 2015 Lima Triple jump Silver 2017 Asunción Triple jump

Yulimar Rojas Rodríguez (born 21 October 1995) is a Venezuelan athlete. She holds the world record for the women's triple jump, with a jump of 15.74 m (51 ft 7.56003937 in) meters. Yulimar is the 2020 Olympic champion. She has also won four World Championship gold medals (in 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023). Additionally, she is a three-time World Indoor Champion (in 2016, 2018, and 2022). She is often called la reina del triple salto, which means "the queen of the triple jump." Since 2014, she has set and broken many Venezuelan national records in both triple jump and long jump.

Yulimar grew up in Venezuela and showed talent in sports from a young age. She faced challenges because of limited resources for training. She started in high jump and sprinting before finding her passion for the triple jump. In 2015, she moved to Guadalajara, Spain, to train with her coach Iván Pedroso. This move helped her become a top athlete in her event. In 2021, she also started competing seriously in the long jump again.

Early Life and Athletics Beginnings

Yulimar Rojas Rodríguez was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She grew up in a simple home in the Altavista area of Pozuelos. Her family moved there so her stepfather could find work. Yulimar is one of six children. She has shared that growing up in a large family helped her learn to overcome difficulties. This determination has been a big part of her success.

When she was young, Yulimar was inspired by Venezuelan athletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Being a tall child, she first wanted to play volleyball or basketball. However, there were no teams or coaches nearby. Her stepfather, Pedro Zapata, who was a boxer, suggested she try athletics. She also received encouragement from coach Jesús "Tuqueque" Velásquez at the Simón Bolívar Sports Complex. Coach Velásquez mentioned that Yulimar and other young athletes sometimes had to help prepare the sandpit for jumps.

Yulimar's first athletics event was shot put. She won her first competition but decided to try other sports. At 15, she entered her first high jump competition. She found inspiration in Asnoldo Devonish, who was Venezuela's only Olympic athletics medalist before Yulimar.

Career Highlights

2011–2015: Starting Her Journey

Yulimar showed great promise early on. She was invited to international competitions. Her first big international event was the 2011 South American Junior Championships. At just 15, she won the high jump and set a new national youth record. This win ranked her 11th in the world that year. After this success, she received her first spike shoes.

In 2013, she improved her personal best in high jump to 1.87 m (6 ft 1.49704725 in) meters. This set a new South American junior record. She also achieved a 6.17 m (20 ft 2.78838583 in) meter long jump. That year, she won two silver medals at international events.

By 2014, Yulimar began competing in both horizontal (long jump, triple jump) and vertical (high jump) events. She won her first senior gold medal in high jump at the South American Games. She also won gold in the long jump at the Pan American Sports Festival. She was chosen to lead the Venezuelan team back home, showing her growing importance.

Yulimar became very interested in the triple jump in 2014. She convinced her coach to let her focus on it. Soon after, she set a Venezuelan under-20 record with a jump of 13.65 m (44 ft 9.27657481 in) meters. Experts noted her natural talent and unique style.

In 2015, Yulimar became her country's best all-time jumper. She set national records in long jump (6.57 m (21 ft 6.53641733 in) m) and triple jump (14.17 m (46 ft 5.74901575 in) m). She won gold in the triple jump at the South American Championships.

2016–2021: Triple Jump Star

Rojas at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Since 2015, Yulimar has been coached by Cuban long jumper Iván Pedroso. She reached out to him on Facebook, and he invited her to train in Spain. She then moved to Guadalajara, Spain, where she lives and trains. In 2016, she officially joined FC Barcelona's athletics team. She was proud to represent the club, which she had always supported.

At the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, Yulimar won the silver medal in the triple jump. Her jump was 14.98 m (49 ft 1.63877953 in) meters. She was the first Venezuelan woman to win an Olympic medal. This was a historic moment for her country.

On 7 August 2017, Yulimar won her first outdoor World Championship title. She jumped 14.91 m (48 ft 10.88287402 in) meters, winning against her rival Caterine Ibargüen. She hoped her win could bring hope to Venezuela.

In February 2020, she broke the women's indoor triple jump record at a competition in Madrid. She jumped 15.43 m (50 ft 7.35531496 in) meters, setting a new world indoor record.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Yulimar focused on the triple jump. She was chosen to be a flagbearer for Venezuela. On 1 August 2021, Yulimar won the gold medal. With her first jump, she set a new Olympic record of 15.41 m (50 ft 6.56791339 in) meters. On her final attempt, she jumped an incredible 15.67 m (51 ft 4.80413386 in) meters. This broke the world record, which had stood since 1995. Yulimar became Venezuela's first female Olympic gold medalist.

2022: Competing in Two Events

Rojas landing the world record triple jump in Belgrade on 20 March 2022

Yulimar started her 2022 season in the long jump. She wanted to "make an impact" in this event. In February, she achieved a new indoor personal best and national record of 6.81 m (22 ft 3.98523622 in) meters.

On 20 March, she set a new absolute best female triple jump record. She jumped 15.74 m (51 ft 7.56003937 in) meters at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. This was a meter ahead of the silver medalist. After this win, she shared that her goal is to jump over 16 meters.

In the 2022 outdoor season, she broke her own long jump record in June. She jumped 6.93 m (22 ft 8.70964567 in) meters. She successfully defended her triple jump title at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. She jumped 15.47 m (50 ft 8.93011811 in) meters.

2023–Present: Continued Triple Jump Success

At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Yulimar continued her winning streak. On her final attempt, she jumped 15.08 m (49 ft 5.57578741 in) meters. This allowed her to win her fourth world title.

In April 2024, Yulimar had surgery for an Achilles injury. Because of this, she announced she would miss the Paris Olympics.

Personal Bests

• 100 m – 11.94 s (2013)
• 4 × 100 m – 46.70 s (2013)
• High jump – 1.87 m (6 ft 1.49704725 in) (2014)
• Long jump – 6.88 m (22 ft 6.74114174 in) (2021) NR

• Indoor long jump – 6.81 m (22 ft 3.98523622 in) (2022) NR

• Triple jump – 15.67 m (51 ft 4.80413386 in) (2021) WR, OR

• Indoor triple jump – 15.74 m (51 ft 7.56003937 in) (2022) WR

Records Held

• World Athletics Indoor Championships record in women's triple jump – indoor (since 2022)
• Diamond League record in women's triple jump (since 2021)
• World record in women's triple jump (since 2021)
• Olympic record in women's triple jump (since 2021)
• World record in women's triple jump – indoor (since 2020)
• Venezuelan record in women's long jump – indoor (since 2020)
• Pan American record in women's triple jump (since 2019)
• South American record in women's triple jump (since 2019)
• South American record in women's triple jump – indoor (since 2016)
• Venezuelan record in women's triple jump – indoor (since 2016)
• Venezuelan record in women's long jump (since 2015)
• Venezuelan record in women's triple jump (since 2014)
• Venezuelan under-20 record in women's long jump (since 2014)
• South American Under-23 Championship record in women's long jump (2014–2018)
• South American junior record in female high jump (2013–2018)

International Competitions

Honors and Awards

At the 2019 Madrid Indoor Athletics Meeting, Rojas (center) and other athletes spoke at a conference of the "greatest athletes in the world".

After her 2016 World Indoor Championships win, Yulimar received the Venezuelan honor Order José Félix Ribas – First Class. This award is named after a Venezuelan independence leader.

There is a mural of Yulimar Rojas in Caracas, showing her jumping over Angel Falls. Another mural featuring Yulimar and footballer Alexander Rondón is at the Simón Bolívar Sports Complex, where she first trained. In 2017, a sports complex in Barcelona, Venezuela, was named the Complejo deportivo Yulimar Rojas in her honor. In May 2022, a new Olympic-standard triple jump arena was announced to be built in her honor.

Yulimar was named Latin American Sportswoman of the Year by Prensa Latina in 2017 and 2019. In 2017, she was also nominated for Univision's Female Athlete of the Year. She was a finalist for the 2019 World Athlete of the Year (Female) award. She won this prestigious award in 2020, becoming the first Venezuelan to receive it. She said it gave her "a lot of motivation" to continue her career.

In 2022, she was chosen as one of the BBC's 100 women. In April 2022, she became the face of the Banco de Venezuela.

Images for kids

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  Rojas in 2019

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  Rojas at the 2016 Rio Olympics

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  Rojas landing the world record triple jump in Belgrade on 20 March 2022

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  At the 2019 Madrid Indoor Athletics Meeting, Rojas (center) and other athletes spoke at a conference of the "greatest athletes in the world".

See also

In Spanish: Yulimar Rojas para niños