Yarisley Silva achieves her best mark of the year and finishes fourth in the Diamond League

June 7, 2019

Cuban pole vaulter Yarisley Silva achieved her best jump of the year and finished in fourth place at the most recent stop of the Diamond League.

The Italian city of Rome hosted a competition that included four of the eight finalists from the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and the London World Championships, and where seven competitors arrived with historic marks above 4.80m. Among them, Yarisley managed to jump 4.66m with fewer misses than her competitors.

The 2017 world bronze medalist started with an easy 4.31 m on her first attempt, then cleared 4.46 m on her second opportunity and again passed without problems a 4.56 m that represented her best mark of the year. Later, she improved that record with the final 4.66 m achieved on the second attempt.

The next height of 4.76 m proved to be an obstacle for almost everyone, as only Swedish Angélica Bengsston managed to clear it without knocking down the bar. That performance served her not only to claim her second consecutive victory in the Diamond League, but also to set a national record for her country.

Second and third place went to Venezuelan Robeilys Peinado and American Sandi Morris, who bettered Yarisley due to fewer failed attempts. The competition was marked by the surprising early elimination of American Jennifer Suhr, the current leader of the world rankings, but unable to clear the bar at 4.56m.

Although the mark achieved by Yarisley still remains far from the elite records of the moment, it is a good sign that the Cuban is advancing in her preparation. As she herself has said on several occasions, she focuses her work step by step to approach the desired marks. In her case, that strategy has already yielded good results.