Yipsy Moreno González

Track and field athlete specializing in hammer throw. Holds 22 absolute national records, 14 junior records, 8 cadet records, and 1 junior world record. World champion, Pan American champion, and two-time Olympic silver medalist; the only athlete from the city of Camagüey with a world record.

Born in the town of Agramonte, in the province of Camagüey, she began her athletic career in 1981, though it wasn't until 15 years later that she began to stand out at the national level, when she broke the Caribbean record in the specialty, achieving a throw of 64.54 meters in 1999, in the capital.

She began at age 12 practicing discus throw but the coaches decided it would be better to move to hammer throw, an event that women have recently joined.

In 2006 she graduated as a Bachelor of Physical Culture and Sports.

For many experts, the Cuban's emergence in this specialty is quite a daring feat, a kind of "intrusion" into a very select circle where European athletes of the competitive caliber of Romanian Mihaela Melinte (world record holder with 76 meters and seven centimeters), Russian Olga Kuzenkova (holder of the second-best mark in history with 75.68m), or the stellar French Manuela Montebrun (fourth of all time with 74.50m) have always reigned.

Her first success came in 1997 when she was proclaimed Pan American champion in the Junior Category in Havana, Cuba. In 1998 she participated in the junior world championships in Annecy, France, where she placed fourth.

Already in the senior category, the first major challenge was the 1999 Pan American Games held in Winnipeg, Canada, where she won the silver medal. This enabled her to attend the World Championships in Seville, 1999, where however inexperience worked against her and she failed to qualify for the final, finishing in 18th place.

2000 would be the year of her consecration as a world-class athlete. She improved her marks considerably and for the first time ranked among the top ten in the world ranking with a throw of 69.36 m made in Rhede, Germany. She also participated in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with a very brilliant performance, and almost won a medal, as she finished fourth with 68.33 m, less than a meter behind German Kirsten Münchow, bronze with 69.28 m.

In 2001 she confirmed the best expectations about her and for the first time managed to break the 70-meter barrier. But most notably, she surprised at the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, winning against all odds the gold medal with her personal best, 70.65 m, four centimeters more than the favored Russian Olga Kuzenkova.

In 2002 she continued to improve her record, and achieved the best mark in Madrid, with 71.47 m, the fourth best in the world that year.

In 2003 she made a new leap in quality, and had her best season, surpassing all marks by a wide margin. She was proclaimed champion at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo with a great throw of 74.25 m, and on July 17 she made in Savona, Italy, a sensational throw of 75.14 m, which placed her as the world leader of the year, and the third best of all time in this specialty. To complete the year, she was proclaimed world champion for the second time in Paris, with a throw of 73.33 m, widely surpassing Russian Kuzenkova (silver with 71.71 m.)

In 2004 it was a very important year as the Athens Olympic Games were being held. In the preceding months it seemed she was the strongest favorite for gold, and in fact in April she again achieved her personal best in Havana, 75.18. However in Athens she could not go as far and "only" managed to throw 73.36 m, so she was surpassed by her known rival Olga Kuzenkova, who threw 75.05 m, a new Olympic record, and had to settle for the silver medal, her first Olympic medal. Also for the second consecutive year she led the world ranking in the specialty.

In 2005 the most important event was the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. And once again the same result from the Athens Games repeated itself, with Kuzenkova gold medal (75.10 m) and silver medal (73.08 m). Despite everything, it is a very notable result.

Currently she is one of the main figures of the powerful Cuban athletics team that won six medals in the most recent

She is considered one of the best hammer throwers in the world, being almost the only one capable of confronting the traditional dominance of Eastern European throwers.

Sports Results

1995
Bronze medal National School Games (JENAR) Discus Throw
Bronze medal National School Games (JENAR) Shot Put

1996
Gold medal National Championship Throws in Pinar del Río
Silver medal José Barrientos Memorial Havana

1997
Bronze medal José Barrientos Memorial Schweyer in Havana
Gold medal Pan American Junior Championship in Havana

1998
Silver medal José Barrientos Memorial in Havana
Silver medal S. Nakazawa Memorial, Mexico City, Mexico
Silver medal Ibero-American Championship, Lisbon, Portugal
4th place Junior World Championship, Annecy, France

1999
Gold medal José Barrientos Memorial in Havana
Gold medal S. Nakazawa Memorial, Mexico City, Mexico
Silver medal Pan American Games, Winnipeg, Canada
18th place World Championship, Seville, Spain

2000
Gold medal International Meet, Rhede, Germany
Gold medal José Barrientos Memorial in Havana
Gold medal International Meet, Sydney, Australia
4th place Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia

2001
Silver medal International Meet, Dortmund, Germany
Silver medal International Meet, Nuremberg, Germany
Silver medal Grand Prix Paris Saint-Denis, France
Gold medal International Meet Rhede, Germany
Gold medal World Championship Edmonton, Canada
Gold medal University World Games, Beijing, China
4th place Goodwill Games, Brisbane, Australia

2002
Bronze medal International Meet, Villeneuve D'Ascq, France
Gold medal Super Grand Prix, Madrid, Spain
Gold medal International Meet Varazdin, Croatia
Silver medal International Meet Szombathely, Hungary
Gold medal International Meet Szombathely, Hungary
Gold medal International Meet Padua, Italy
Silver medal José Barrientos Memorial, Havana

2003
Gold medal Cuban Sports Olympics, Havana
Silver medal International Meet, Villeneuve D'Ascq, France
Gold medal International Meet, Padua, Italy
Gold medal International Meet, Savona, Italy
Gold medal Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Gold medal World Championship, Paris Saint-Denis, France
Gold medal World Final, Szombathely, Hungary

2004
Gold medal Cuban Sports Olympics, Havana
Gold medal International Meet, Osaka, Japan
Gold medal Grand Prix, Provincial, Seville, Spain
Gold medal International Meet, Guadalajara, Spain
Gold medal International Meet, Bilbao, Spain
Gold medal Gaz de France, Villeneuve D'Ascq, France
Gold medal International Meet, Padua, Italy
Gold medal Golden League, Paris Saint-Denis, France
Gold medal Ibero-American Championship, Huelva, Spain
Silver medal Olympic Games, Athens, Greece

2005
Gold medal José Barrientos Memorial, Havana
Bronze medal International Meet, Padua, Italy
Silver medal International Meet, Zagreb, Croatia
Silver medal Super Grand Prix, Madrid, Spain
Gold medal International Meet, Karlstad, Germany
Gold medal International Meet, Lisbon, Portugal
Silver medal World Championship, Helsinki, Finland
Gold medal Grand Prix, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Gold medal Grand Prix, Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia
Gold medal World Final, Szombathely, Hungary

2006
Gold medal Werfertage, Halle, Germany
Gold medal Golden Spike, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Gold medal José Barrientos Memorial, Havana
Gold medal International Meet, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Gold medal International Meet, Cáceres, Spain
Gold medal International Meet, Bilbao, Spain
Gold medal Super Grand Prix, Madrid, Spain
Gold medal Central American and Caribbean Games, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
Bronze medal Grand Prix, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Bronze medal Grand Prix, Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia
Bronze medal Grand Prix, Zagreb, Croatia
Bronze medal World Final, Stuttgart, Germany
Bronze medal World Cup, Athens, Greece

2007
Gold medal Kingston Relay, Spanish Town, Jamaica
Gold medal Grand Prix, Uberlandia, Brazil
Gold medal ALBA Games, Caracas, Venezuela
Gold medal Grand Prix, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Gold medal José Barrientos Memorial, Havana
Silver medal P. Nebiolo Memorial, Turin, Italy
Gold medal J. Kusocinski Memorial, Warsaw, Poland
Gold medal International Meet, Bilbao, Spain
Bronze medal Golden Spike, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Silver medal Grand Prix, Zagreb, Croatia
Gold medal International Meet, Padua, Italy
Gold medal Pan American Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Silver medal World Championship, Osaka, Japan
Gold medal World Final, Stuttgart, Germany

2008
Gold medal International Meet, Kassel, Germany
Gold medal Golden Spike, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Gold medal International Meet, Bilbao, Spain
Silver medal Gaz de France, Villeneuve D'Ascq, France
Silver medal Olympic Games, Beijing, China
Gold medal International Meet, Bottrop, Germany
Gold medal International Meet, Rieti, Italy
Gold medal Grand Prix, Zagreb, Croatia
Gold medal World Final, Stuttgart, Germany

2010
6th place Werfertage, Halle, Germany
Gold medal Cuban Sports Olympics, Havana
Silver medal Ibero-American Meet, Huelva, Spain
Gold medal International Meet, Bilbao, Spain
Silver medal H. Znamenski Memorial, Zhukovsky, Russia
Gold medal Villa de Reims, Reims, France
5th place ISTAF, Berlin, Germany
Gold medal Gaz de France, Villeneuve D'Ascq, France
Silver medal International Meet, Rieti, Italy
Bronze medal Continental Cup, Split, Croatia