Cuban Jordan Díaz wins with 3rd longest jump in history

June 12, 2024

The European Athletics Championship had another competitive day on June 11 in the city of Rome, but it was not a normal day. The grand final of the Triple Jump event in the men's sector was simply spectacular, something that was foreshadowed from the qualifying stage. Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Jordan Díaz, two athletes born in Cuba, unleashed euphoria among those present.

The rivalry between Pichardo and Díaz gave birth to an extraordinary mark in the jump pit. The Portuguese athlete sounded the warning in qualifying, when with a first attempt of 17.48 meters he certified his passage to the medal round. Back then, Spanish athlete Díaz was leading with the 17.52 meters he achieved in his second opportunity. The duel was set!

If we look at the personal records before the event, the favorite was Pedro Pablo, since he held the mark of 18.08 meters at the Cuba Athletics Cup in 2015. Jordan Díaz, for his part, reached 17.87 meters in June 2022 at the Spanish Championship. However, this changed and from the heat emerged a new milestone for one of them.

The competition had dramatic overtones and culminated with fabulous performances. In his second opportunity, Pedro Pablo Pichardo achieved 18.04 meters, which constituted a national record for Portugal. His bitter rival had not yet said his last word and the story had just begun.

Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Jordan Díaz impressed

Jordan Díaz took his fourth attempt and shattered his personal record, after leaving his mark at 17.96 meters. But the native of Havana had another trick up his sleeve and pulled it out on his fifth visit to the sand.

18.18 meters! The disciple of Iván Pedroso shattered in one fell swoop the Spanish record and his own, while letting out a loud and clear cry that he is a strong candidate to reign at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Pedro Pablo Pichardo had only one chance to turn the script around, but his last jump measured 17.92 meters, which placed the crown on the head of his younger rival.

To put Jordan Díaz's feat into perspective, we must mention that he achieved the third best mark in the history of triple jump, which makes one dream that he could break the world record of the discipline, which is set at 18.29 meters.

This top mark belongs to British athlete Jonathan Edwards, when he achieved that performance on August 7, 1995. The second place is held by American Christian Taylor, who flew to 18.21 meters on August 27, 2015.

Rome was a magical venue for Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Jordan Díaz! Both demonstrated their potential and staged an immortal contest.