Leyanis Pérez revalidates her reign: Another gold crown for the Cuban triple jumper

Photo: Jit

August 29, 2025

Cuban triple jumper Leyanis Pérez confirmed her world dominance in the specialty by winning for the second consecutive year the Diamond League title in Zurich, Switzerland, with a jump of 14.91 meters.

The Caribbean athlete, who only registered another valid attempt of 14.90 meters, demonstrated that any of her marks would have been sufficient to secure the victory. Her four remaining attempts were null for exceeding the foul line, evidencing her persistent pursuit to surpass the 15-meter barrier.

The women's triple jump podium was completely dominated by Cuban athletes: Liadagmis Povea obtained silver with 14.72 meters, while Davisleydi Velazco (who does not represent the Cuban federation) completed the triumph with bronze (14.65 meters). The Olympic champion from Paris 2024, Dominican Thea Lafond, registered her best mark of the season (14.62 meters) but it proved insufficient to reach the podium.

The Letzigrund Arena stage served as a preview of the World Championship in Tokyo, scheduled to begin on September 13, where the participation of defending champion Yulimar Rojas is expected. The Venezuelan, despite her prolonged competitive absence, continues to be considered the main figure of the specialty.

Prior to this final, Pérez had accumulated consistent results: second in Rome (14.46m) and victories in Oslo (14.72m) and Brussels (14.78m). Ricardo Ponce, the Cuban's trainer, commented to JIT: "Several of the fouls were over 15 meters. Today we were in the range we wanted," pointing to his optimism heading into the world championship.

Other notable results in Zurich:

Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain) won the 400m with 48.70s, surpassing Dominican Marileidy Paulino (49.23s).

Armand Duplantis (Sweden) obtained his fifth consecutive diamond in pole vault with 6.10m, far from his world record (6.29m).

Femke Bol (Netherlands) and Karsten Warholm (Norway) dominated in the 400m hurdles with 52.18s and 46.70s respectively.

Noah Lyles (USA) won in the 200m with 19.74s, surpassing Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo (19.76s).

World athletics' attention now shifts to the World Championship in Tokyo, where Pérez will seek to reaffirm her status as the best triple jumper of the moment against Rojas's return.

Source: Cubadebate