Iván Pedroso: "My national record will last as long as Echevarría wants"

June 12, 2018

The former Cuban long jumper Iván Pedroso stated that his compatriot Juan Miguel Echevarría has everything needed to break the national record of 8.71 meters held by the Olympic champion from Sydney 2000.

"I saw Echevarría compete a few years ago in Cuba and I already said he is the future, he is proving it," said the now coach of Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas, holder of the triple jump title under the five rings at Rio 2016.

In statements to the sports newspaper Marca, Pedroso stressed that Juan Miguel is in a spectacular moment and the national record will last as long as he wants it to.

Last Sunday Echevarría achieved the ninth best jump in history, including unratified ones, when he posted an impressive 8.83 meters at the Diamond League stop in Stockholm, with 2.1 meters per second of favorable wind, one tenth above the limit (2.0).

For Raúl Chapado, president of the Spanish Athletics Federation, Juan Miguel could become the first athlete to reach 9 meters, surpassing the world record of 8.95, registered by American Mike Powell.

"Echevarría could have scraped off a few more centimeters in Stockholm if the pit had not come up short. He hits his feet on the edge and bounces back out. You can see that he tried to protect himself and, because of that, the fall is not good," said Chapado.

Pedroso emphasized the progress that the young Cuban has experienced in recent years. "He did not have a good run-up, but he has worked a lot on that aspect with his coach and now he is performing at his best. I believe there will be great surprises, both because of the talent he has and because of his age," concluded the legendary Caribbean jumper.

Source: Prensa Latina