Pedro Pablo Pichardo

Athlete of Cuban origin and Portuguese nationality. His specialty is the triple jump and in his sports career, with Cuban nationality, he held two silver medals at the World Athletics Championship, and a bronze medal at the world indoor championship. He won gold in triple jump at the Tokyo Olympics.

Pedro Pichardo's first relevant triumph at the international level took place in the city of Barcelona at the junior category world championship in 2012. In said event he registered a mark of 16.79 m, which also meant the fourth Cuban victory in the specialty, the previous ones being Yoelbi Quesada (1992), René Hernández (1996) and Arnie David Giralt (2002).

In 2013 he began his path in the senior category, and in the Diamond League he took first place in the Lausanne meeting with a mark of 17.58 m. After a third place in Monaco, he presented himself at his first world championship in the city of Moscow, in which he became the youngest medalist of the event at twenty years old by registering a jump of 17.68 m that earned him the silver medal.

For 2014, in his debut at the world indoor championship in Sopot, Poland, he placed third in the final with a mark of 17.24 m, which he achieved in his last attempt. He was preceded on the podium by his compatriot Ernesto Revé. Subsequently, at the Cuba Cup of Athletics he achieved a new championship record that dated back to 1985 when he jumped 17.71 m. It should be noted that already in the month of February he had improved his own personal record in Havana which also resulted in the best mark of the year in the specialty when he jumped 17.76 m.

However, Pichardo had to serve a suspension for misconduct (he had refused to train with the main coach), and returned in May 2015. The return was notable when he established a new national record of 17.94 m on May 8 in the pre-selection tests for the Pan American Games, thus surpassing Yoelbi Quesada's record of 17.85 m, achieved in 1997. His good form was confirmed in his second participation in the Diamond League days later: on May 15, in Doha, he surpassed the 18-meter barrier for the first time by achieving 18.06 m; and back in Cuba, at the Barrientos Memorial on May 28, he jumped 18.08 m, which, along with the previous mark, placed him as the third best triple jump athlete of all time, only surpassed by American Kenny Harrison (18.09 m) and British Jonathan Edwards (18.29 m).

His streak ended on July 9 when Christian Taylor won in Lausanne by marking 18.06 m versus 17.99 m for the Cuban who finished in second place. The same result was repeated in Monaco eight days later, with a difference of two centimeters between them (17.75 m and 17.73 m respectively). Thus both presented themselves as favorites to compete for the gold medal at the world championship in Beijing, the second in Pichardo's count who arrived as the Pan American champion, but again had to settle for the silver medal by marking 17.73 m, a record he achieved in his final round of jumps. He was surpassed by Taylor who jumped 18.21 m, the second best mark in history.

In 2016 he was unable to participate in the world indoor championship in Portland due to a "micro fracture" in his right ankle. Although throughout the season he made efforts to arrive in good form at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, Cuban sports authorities denied him participation in order to prevent aggravation of his injury.

Pichardo began his training for the 2017 season in the city of Stuttgart, Germany, which would culminate with the world championship in London. However, he decided to leave the Cuban team's training camp to an unknown destination, but at the end of April it became known that he had been accepted to compete for the Portuguese club Benfica.

Despite everything, he competed in July still representing Cuba in the Diamond League meetings in Paris, where he placed fourth with a mark of 17.05 m, and mainly in Lausanne where he won first place with a record of 17.60 m ahead of American Christian Taylor with 17.49 m. In the final of the event, in Brussels, he placed in third position with a mark of 17.32 m. In December of that same year he obtained Portuguese nationality.

In 2018, officially representing Cuba, he won at the Doha meeting with a jump of 17.95 m on May 4 in the Diamond League. By July 5, he was already representing Portugal at the Lausanne meeting and placed second with a mark of 17.61 m, the same result as Monaco with a record of 17.67 m. However, in the final of the event in Brussels, he claimed his first Diamond Trophy with a jump of 17.49 m, with American Taylor in second place (17.31 m). In September of that same year he received notification from the IAAF with authorization to compete for Portugal in major world athletics events starting August 1, 2019.

For 2019 he had three participations in the Diamond League in the qualifying phase, having obtained first place in London with a mark of 17.53 m. He obtained a victory at the European Athletics Championship by Nations (16.98 m), while in the Diamond League final in Brussels he placed seventh (16.32 m). In his third attendance at a world athletics championship, held in Doha, Pichardo placed fourth with a jump of 17.62 m.

Pedro Pablo Pichardo, at 28 years old, reached 17.98 meters and established a new Portugal record by obtaining the gold medal in triple jump at the Tokyo Olympics.

Personal best in Triple Jump 18.08 m achieved in Havana (CUB) on 28/05/2015