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| Born | November 14, 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Osleidys Menéndez Sáez (born November 14, 1979 in Martí) is a Cuban athlete competing in the javelin throw. She is a former Olympic champion, world champion, and world record holder. She has been described as the female "Jan Železný" of her times.
When winning the 2005 World Athletics Championships, Menéndez broke her own world record with a throw of 71.70 m. This record was broken by Olympic champion Barbora Špotáková in September 2008 with a throw of 72.28 m.
She was coached by former javelin thrower Dionisio Quintana. Under his guidance, Menéndez developed a successful career spanning thirteen years. Quintana threw the javelin competitively (1971 to 1987) with a 84.35 metres personal best (old model).[1]
In Sept 2009, her 2004 Athens Gold Medal was placed for auction on eBay ($50,000 buy it now, auction #140343888990). Circumstances leading to the auction were not disclosed in the auction listing, but the location of the sale was shown as Hawaii.
In July 2011, her 2004 Athens Gold Medal was placed on eBay for auction a second time (item #120746468699 Item location: San Antonio, TX, United States) with a "Buy It Now" price of $30,000.00 USD. Once again, circumstances leading to the auction were not disclosed.
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by Trine Hattestad |
Women's Javelin Best Year Performance 2001 |
Succeeded by Miréla Manjani |
| Preceded by Miréla Manjani |
Women's Javelin Best Year Performance 2004 – 2005 |
Succeeded by Christina Obergföll |
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