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News10 Jul 2008


Women’s Triple Jump

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At 16 years and 335 days, Dailenys Alcantara of Cuba may have been the youngest athlete in tonight’s triple jump final, she never let this petty detail affect her. Instead, she opened with a personal best and World junior leading 14.25m which literally killed the rest of the field.

Just like her idol and compatriot Yargelis Savigne, who opened with a bang to win last year’s World Championships in Osaka with 15.28, Alcantara stood head and shoulders above her rivals, albeit just figuratively as she was one of the smallest jumpers in the final.

She fouled none of her six attempts and apart from a 13.50 in the fourth round, all her jumps were above 14 metres.

To measure the extent of her domination one only needs to look at runner up Josleidy Ribalta’s best effort of 13.85 who was a full 40 centimetres off the winning mark tonight.

The Cuban pair prevailed over Greece’s Paraskevi Papahristou who claimed bronze with a first round best jump of 13.74.

“I am not surprised,” said Alcantara who also won last year’s World Youth Championships in Ostrava. “I have improved a lot in the last couple of years. In the coming years I want to be one of the best in the world at the senior level.”

Alcantara is the second Cuban ever to win a World Junior gold medal after Mabel Gay's title back in 2002.

Alcantara is also the fourth athlete after David Storl, Bianca Perie and Dexter Lee to add the Bydgoszcz title to the World Youth gold medal from Osatrava last year to her resume.

Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF

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