Yulimar Rojas
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 21, 1995 |
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |
 Venezuela |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Women's Triple Jump |
Medal record
| |
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Yulimar Rojas (also known as Yolimar Rojas; born 21 October 1995) is a Venezuelan track and field athlete who competes in the high jump, long jump and triple jump. She holds personal bests of 1.87, 6.57, and 15.02 metres for the events, respectively. The latter two marks are Venezuelan national records.
She was the gold medallist in the high jump at the 2014 South American Games and followed this with a triple jump gold medal at the South American Championships in Athletics in 2015. She has also won medals at the Pan American Sports Festival, Bolivarian Games, was a double champion at the South American Under-23 Championships and olympic silver medallist in Rio de Janeiro.[1]
Career
Born in Caracas and brought up in Anzoátegui,[2] she had her first success at the 2011 South American Junior Championships in Athletics, where she won the high jump.[3][4] She was defeated by younger opposition at the South American Youth Championships in 2012, managing only fourth.[5] She performed better in higher level competition that year, jumping 1.75 m (5 ft 8 3⁄4 in) to take sixth at the Ibero-American Championships and claiming the bronze medal at the South American Under-23 Championships.[6]
In the 2013 season she improved her personal best to 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) with a jump in Barquisimeto, which was a South American junior record.[7] Two international silver medals came that year at the 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships (losing to Daniellys Garay on countback) and the Bolivarian Games, where she was second to Kashani Ríos. She also competed in the long jump at the latter event, placing sixth.[8][9] Improving in her new event, she had a best of 6.23 m (20 ft 5 1⁄4 in) in long jump that year.[7]
Rojas expanded her oeuvre in 2014 and began regularly competing in both horizontal and vertical jump events. Starting with the South American Games in March, she claimed her first senior gold medal in the high jump, holding off Kashani Ríos.[10] An appearance in the horizontal jumps followed at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where she came eleventh in the long jump and 17th overall in the triple jump.[7] The Pan American Sports Festival brought her her first gold medal in the long jump, as she defeated Irisdaymi Herrera of Cuba.[11] In recognition, she was chosen to lead the returning delegation back to Venezuela and was given the national flag by Tony Álvarez, the Minister of Youth and Sports.[12] A long jump/triple jump double followed at 2014 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics, which included a championship record of 6.36 m (20 ft 10 1⁄4 in) in the former event.[13] At senior level, she narrow missed out on medals in both those disciplines at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, placing fourth twice.[14][15]
Rojas established herself as her country's best ever jumper at the 2015 Venezuelan Championships, setting national records of 6.57 m (21 ft 6 1⁄2 in) and 14.17 m (46 ft 5 3⁄4 in) to win the long and triple jump events.[16] At age nineteen, she won the continental triple jump title at the 2015 South American Championships in Athletics, winning gold on her debut at the competition.[17]
Personal bests
- High jump – 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) (2014)
- Long jump – 6.57 m (21 ft 6 1⁄2 in) (2015)
- Triple jump – 15.02 m (49 ft 3 1⁄4 in) (2016)
International competitions
Personal life
Through her social media,[18] Yulimar Rojas makes no mystery about belonging to the LGBT community and dating a young woman, who refers to herself on her social media as "Rusmely Rojas",[19] though no recognition of couple (union or marriage) exists for same-sex couples in Venezuela.
References
- ↑ "Yulimar Rojas". Rio 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- ↑ Valdez, Magdalena (2014-11-11). Abanderada delegación venezolana para Veracruz (+ Fotos). YVKE Radio Mundial. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Brazil dominates South American Junior Championships in Medellin. IAAF (2011-09-26). Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ South American Junior Championships 2011. World Junior Athletics History. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ South American Youth Championships 2012. WJAH. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Campeonatos Sul-Americano CAIXA de Atletismo SUB-23. CONSUDATLE. Retrieved on 2015-06-20.
- 1 2 3 Yulimar Rojas. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ 2013 Bolivarian Games Women's Long Jump. Bolivarianso2013. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ 2013 Bolivarian Games Women's High Jump. Bolivarianos2013. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Biscayart, Eduardo (2014-03-17). Davide and Duco delight big crowd on final day of ODESUR Games . IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Athletics at the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival Results. AmericasAthletics. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Yulimar Rojas recibió el estandarte nacional. El Nacional (2014-11-11). Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ 6º Sudamericano de Atletismo Sub 23 - 3 al 5 octubre / Montevideo - 214 - Resultados finales Sudamericano Sub 23. CONSUDATLE. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ 2014 CAC Games Women's Long Jump. Veracruz2014. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ 2014 CAC Games Women's Triple Jump. Veracruz2014. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Barinas (Venezuela), 17-18.4.2015 –National Championships- . TrackInSun (2015-04-20). Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Biscayart, Eduardo (2015-06-15). Brazilians dominate South American Championships in Lima. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Many posts on her Instagram accounts
- ↑ At least for her Instagram account name
External links
- Yulimar Rojas profile at IAAF