Triple jumper Yulimar Rojas’ bid to become the first woman Olympic gold medallist from Venezuela got off to a strong start on Friday with the double world champion soaring past the qualifying mark for the final with her first attempt.
By Reuters – Sudipto Ganguly
Jul 30, 2021
Venezuela has won two gold medals to date at the multisport showpiece – in men’s boxing in 1968 and men’s fencing in 2012.
The 25-year-old Rojas finished second behind Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguen at the Rio de Janeiro Games five years back but has since established herself as the leading athlete heading into the Tokyo Games.
She won the two previous editions of both the world outdoor and indoor titles and is the only woman in the world to breach the 15 metres mark this year.
She said her chance of breaking Ukrainian Inessa Kravets’ 1995 world record mark of 15.50 in Tokyo was a “real possibility”.
“It is something that I desire with all my heart, but my focus is on the Olympic medal,” Rojas said.
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