Lázaro Martínez: Bronze and Surprise at the World Athletics Championship

September 19, 2025

Since February 28 of this year, Lázaro Martínez had not exceeded 17 meters in the triple jump. Besides that day, only one other time during the year did he go beyond the mythical barrier, also during the indoor season. Imagining him on the podium at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo seemed difficult, but the Cuban reached 17.49 m today and won a bronze medal when few were betting on him.

The medal-winning jump appeared in the second round of a competition that saw favorites fall and others rise, such as the case of Italian Andrea Dallavalle, silver medalist with a personal best of 17.64 m during the sixth round. Until then, fellow Cuban Pedro Pablo Pichardo, a representative of Portugal for years, led the event with 17.55 m, but he was forced to step up in the final jump of the competition.

Then the two-time Olympic medalist left no doubt: 17.91 m, the year's leading mark and around his neck a world crown he hasn't enjoyed since 2022. Andy Díaz, another Cuban representing Italy and the top favorite for the title, finished sixth with 17.19 m, one step ahead of Hugues Fabrice Zango, seventh without reaching 17 meters.

For Lázaro Martínez this represents his second consecutive medal at outdoor world championships following his silver from Budapest 2023. For Cuban men's triple jump it means their tenth medal in these competitions, a figure only surpassed by American jumpers with 15 medals.