Havana, March 20 (RHC) – With his best mark of the season, set at 17.14 meters, Cuban Lázaro Martínez said goodbye today in fourth place in the triple jump of the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Torun, Poland.
Despite arriving at the competition venue not ranked among the top 10 this season, the 2022 champion in this type of event achieved three throws over 17 meters and was once again in contention for medals, although it wasn’t enough for a podium finish.
The two-time world champion in outdoor events reached 17.02 meters on his first attempt, then recorded the aforementioned 17.14 meters, and completed his sequence with 16.80, 17.03, and 16.90 meters, with one foul.
The title remained with Cuban Andy Díaz, who competes for Italy. He achieved 17.47 meters, becoming only the second man in history to win two consecutive titles, and he did so with the best mark of the year.
Previously, only Sweden’s Christian Olsson had achieved two consecutive titles: in 2003 and 2004.
This time, the podium was completed by Jamaica’s Jordan Scott (17.33 meters) and Algeria’s Yasser Mohamed Triki (17.30 meters).
Cuba also relied on Andy Hechevarría, who came in with the second-best mark of the year (17.34 meters), but his lack of prior experience in these competitions proved costly. He only managed 16.42 meters and finished in 12th place out of 17 competitors.
The Polish evening also saw the men’s 60-meter dash and the women’s shot put, with the gold medals going to Americans Jordan Anthony (6.41 seconds) and Chase Jackson (20.14 meters), respectively.
This Saturday, Cuban attention will be focused on the women’s triple jump, with Leyanis Pérez defending her title and Liadagmis Povea aiming to repeat her silver medal performance from last year.
Both will face off against Venezuelan star Yulimar Rojas, returning to competition with the best mark of the year at 14.95 meters. Also among the entrants is Olympic champion Thea Lafond of Dominica.
