Caterine Ibargüen sails to a windy 14.59m leap in Buenos Aires (© Eduardo Biscayart)
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Colombian Caterine Ibargüen produced the best result of the third day (4) of the 47th South American Championships that are taking place at the track of the “Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo” in Buenos Aires, by triple jumping to 14.59m, aided by a breeze of 2.2 m/s.
Coming from setting a new Area record of 14.59m (São Paulo, 22 May), the 27-year-old from Apartado, Antioquia, displayed a great series: 14.15m, foul, 14.41m, 14.59m, 14.48m/0.2, 14.32m. Ibargüen, who resides in Puerto Rico, and is coached by Cuban Ubaldo Duany, showed her great form, in spite of the cold weather (10° Celsius, sunny) in the Argentine capital.
“I am feeling very good, and I expected a good mark, even to break the record again in spite of the cold weather. But it’s early in the season, so I’m hoping to continue my progress”, said the Colombian, who is currently sixth on the 2011 World Lists.
“I’m still working on my technique, after the transition from the High Jump (where she holds the Colombian record with 1.93m). I know I have some mistakes to fix, but that is rather encouraging for me. It shows me that I can jump further,” added Ibargüen after reaching her second South American Triple Jump title.
Championship record for Julião
Brazilian Ronald Odair de Oliveira Julião displayed his good form by winning the Discus Throw with a Championship record of 62.72m – a season’s best, and his second best ever performance after his 63.09 national record from 2010. The 25-year-old Julião, coached by João Paulo Alves da Cunha, dominated the event from his very first throw, beating the favourite Argentineans Germán Lauro (South American Champion in 2007 and 2009), and Jorge Balliengo (South American record holder with 66.32m from 2006). Julião’s series was: 62.08m, 61.04m, 60.96m, foul, foul, and 62.72m.
“Last year was the turning point for my career,” said Julião after his victory. “With the advice of Spanish coach José Luis Martínez, we changed the whole philosophy of our training, hardly working on the strength, and mostly on the technique. That made the difference. Up to 2010 I hadn’t been able to break the 60-metre barrier, and now I feel I go for higher goals.” Julião brought back a title that Brazil has missed since João Joaquim dos Santos’s victory in Manaus 1995.
Doubles for Silva and García
On Saturday, Brazilian Ana Cláudia Silva and Colombin Rosibel García became the first athletes of this edition of the “Sudamericano” to obtain double victories. Silva won the 200m in 23.18, after winning the 100m (11.46) on Thursday. The 22-year-old Silva is the South American 100m record holder (11.15, 2010), and these are her first South American titles.
García won the 800m in 2:04.76, reaching her third South American title at the distance. The 30-year-old García had already won the 1500m (4:22.18 on Friday), and is the Colombian record holder at both distances (1:59.38 from 2008 and 4:15.78 from 2007).
Another Colombian who also displayed great talent is Rafith Rodríguez (El Bagre, Antioquia, 1 June 1989). Rodríguez became the second Colombian to claim the 800m title after Óscar Rivera (1:52.2 in 1963). The 23-year-old Rodríguez won in 1:51.38, beating the favourite, Brazilian Kléberson Davide (fourth at the 2010 Continental Cup), by more than one second. The race was slow (57 seconds at the bell), but Rodríguez, with a very smooth pace (1.88m, 68kg), had no trouble making his move on Davide with 120 metres to go. Both runners are coming from setting PBs at the Belém APM (15 May), where Davide was second with 1:44.28 and Rodriguez third with a NR of 1:44.31.
Unexpected Triple Jump title for Argentina
The surprise of the day – and joy for the hosts – was provided by 22-year-old Maximiliano Díaz. The native of Salta grabbed the Triple Jump title with a 16.51m (wind 1.2) national record, upsetting the Brazilian duo of Jonathan Silva and Jefferson Dias Sabino. With his last jump of the day Díaz become the third Argentinean to win the event. The only others to do so had been Luis Antonio Brunetto, who dominated at the early stages of the “Sudamericano” (five titles between 1924 and 1931) and Tomás Diz (who won in 1933). Brunetto, silver medallist at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, held the Argentinean record for 51 years, with the 15.425m performance he obtained in Paris ’24.
The championships conclude on Sunday (5).
Eduardo Biscayart for the IAAF
Leading Results -
47th South American Championships
Day 3 – 4 June 2011
Men -
200m (1.7 m/s):
1. Daniel Grueso COL 20.90
2. Mariano Jiménez ARG 21.06
3. Cristián Reyes CHI 21.09
800m:
1. Rafith Rodríguez COL 1:51.38
2. Kléberson Davide BRA 1:52.42
3. Sebastián Vega ARG 1:52.43
3000m Steeplechase:
1. Hudson de Souza BRA 8:36.53
2. Marvin Blanco VEN 8:38.91
3. Mariano Mastromarino ARG 8:38.91
Triple Jump:
1. Maximiliano Díaz ARG 16.51/1.2 NR
2. Jonathan Silva BRA 16.45/1.0
3. Jefferson Dias Sabino BRA 16.45/0.7
Discus Throw:
1. Ronald Julião BRA 62.72 CR
2. Germán Lauro ARG 59.98
3. Jesús Parejo VEN 57.42
Women -
200m (0.4):
1. Ana Cláudia Silva BRA 23.18
2. Norma González COL 23.22
3. Jaílma de Lima BRA 23.54
800m:
1. Rosibel García COL 2:04.76
2. Andrea Ferris PAN 2:05.13
3. Muriel Coneo COL 2:05.25
3000m Steeplechase:
1. Ángela Figueroa COL 9:58.00
2. Eliane da Silva BRA 10:22.96
3. Jovana de la Cruz PER 10:24.67
Triple Jump:
1. Caterine Ibargüen COL 14.59/2.2 (14.48/0.2)
2. Keila Costa BRA 13.96/0.0
3. Gisele de Oliveira BRA 13.43/0.9
Discus Throw:
1. Andressa de Morais BRA 57.54
2. Karen Gallardo CHI 54.91
3. Fernando Borges BRA 54.18
Heptathlon (standings after four events):
1. Vanessa Spínola BRA 3335
14.63/0.2 1.68 12.59 24.71/0.0
2. Agustina Zerboni ARG 3133
14.18 1.56 11.59 25.33
3. Melry Caldeira BRA 3085
14.23 1.53 12.04 25.74
