Yamilé Aldama

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Aldama and the second or maternal family name is Pozo.
Yamilé Aldama

Aldama at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
Personal information
Born August 14, 1972
Havana, Cuba
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Weight 62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
Country  United Kingdom
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Triple jump
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 15.29 (Rome 2003)
Updated on 15 August 2012.

Yamilé Aldama Pozo (known as Yamilé Aldama, جميلة الداما) (born 14 August 1972) is an international triple jumper currently competing for Great Britain after formerly representing Cuba and Sudan.

Life and career

Aldama was born in Havana, Cuba, and initially represented her country of birth. At first she competed in high jump and heptathlon events, but in 1994 she tried triple jump and two years later qualified for the Olympic team for 1996 Summer Olympics.[1] Unable to compete there due to injury next year she reached the final at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships finishing in sixth place. Two years later she won her only medal to date at the major international final taking silver medal at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics in Seville, Spain. The next year at the 2000 Summer Olympics she finished in fourth position thus cementing her place as an elite triple jumper.

In 2001 she married Andrew Dodds, a Scottish television producer, and thereafter relocated to the United Kingdom. Following her marriage she applied for British citizenship. However, shortly after, her husband was sentenced to 15 years for his part in trafficking heroin valued at £40million.[2] Unconnected to the offence herself, she decided to remain in the United Kingdom with her husband.[3] As she had not lived in Britain before, she had to wait the mandatory three-year period to achieve a passport. She expressed her decision to represent Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and was supported by David Moorcroft.[4] Due to this she did not take part in the 2003 World Championships as this would have hindered her chance to switch allegiance to Great Britain.

However, in 2004 the British passport agency refused to push forward her application for a passport. As she moved to Great Britain in November 2001, she would not have been eligible for a passport until November 2004, three months after the Olympics. Aldama instead sought a new country to represent, and after offers from Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic she instead switched to Sudan.[2]

After acquiring the Sudanese citizenship on January 23, 2004, she went to represent Sudan at the 2004 Summer Olympics where she finished in fifth place. In 2004 she also broke the Sudanese triple jump record achieving 15.28 metres.[1] After again taking fourth place at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics she missed the finals at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships as well as the final of 2008 Summer Olympics.

On February 5, 2010, nearly ten years after her initial application, she finally gained British citizenship[5] and a year later, now competing as a Great Britain representative, took fifth place finish at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.

On March 9, 2012, at the age of 39 years, Aldama became the IAAF World Indoor Champion in Triple Jump, in Istanbul, Turkey, the second oldest athlete ever to achieve the feat. In the process, just over five months before her 40th birthday, she improved upon the Masters W35 record twice. The indoor results have not been ratified as a world record, but later in May she jumped 17.65 at the Rome Diamond League meet to set what is the current record. On that jump, she landed awkwardly and injured her shoulder.[6] She had to compete in the 2012 Olympics, less than a month short of 40 years old, with the injury still finishing fifth.[7]

At the British Athletics Writers' Association awards in October 2012, Aldama collected the BAWA's 2012 Inspiration award. She also finished third behind winner Jessica Ennis and Christine Ohuruogu in the placings for "British Athlete of the Year".[8]

In January 2013, Aldama made the decision to represent Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, making her the first athlete to have competed for four different nations.[9] She achieved the feat by participating in this competition, albeit on behalf of England instead.

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Cuba
1988 CAC Junior Championships (U-20) Nassau, Bahamas 1st High jump 1.78 m[10]
4th Long jump 5.48 m
1990 CAC Junior Championships (U-20) Havana, Cuba 3rd High jump 1.70 m
1996 Ibero-American Championships Medellín, Colombia 1st Triple jump 14.39 m CR[11]
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 6th Triple jump 14.28 m
Central American and Caribbean Championships San Juan, Puerto Rico 2nd Triple jump 14.12 m w[12]
World Championships Athens, Greece 13th (q) Triple jump 14.09 m   (0.0 m/s)
1998 Ibero-American Championships Lisbon, Portugal 1st Triple jump 14.07 m[11]
Central American and Caribbean Games Maracaibo, Venezuela 1st Triple jump 14.34 m[12]
World Cup Johannesburg, South Africa 3rd Triple jump 14.29 m   (0.6 m/s)
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 7th Triple jump 14.47 m
World Championships Seville, Spain 2nd Triple jump 14.61 m   (-0.4 m/s)
IAAF Grand Prix Final Munich, Germany 7th Triple jump 14.18 m   (-0.2 m/s)
Pan American Games Winnipeg, Canada 1st Triple jump 14.77 m CR[13]
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 4th Triple jump 14.30 m   (-0.9 m/s)
2003 World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 2nd Triple jump 14.99 m   (0.2 m/s)
Representing  Sudan
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd Triple jump 14.90 m
African Championships Brazzaville, Congo 1st Triple jump 14.90 m[14]
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 5th Triple jump 14.99 m   (0.1 m/s)
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 3rd Triple jump 14.92 m   (0.2 m/s)
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 4th Triple jump 14.72 m   (0.8 m/s)
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 6th Triple jump 14.26 m   (0.8 m/s)
2006 World Indoor Championships Moscow, Russia 3rd Triple jump 14.86 m
African Championships Bambous, Mauritius 1st Triple jump 14.71 m w   (2.6 m/s)[15]
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 3rd Triple jump 14.67 m   (-0.1 m/s)
World Cup Athens, Greece 3rd Triple jump 14.78 m   (1.0 m/s)
2007 All-Africa Games Algiers, Algeria 1st Triple jump 14.46 m[16]
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 4th Triple jump 14.41 m   (0.3 m/s)
Pan Arab Games Cairo, Egypt 2nd High jump 1.77 m[17]
2nd Long jump 6.05 m[17]
World Championships Osaka, Japan 12th (q) Triple jump 13.46 m   (-0.2 m/s)
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 5th Triple jump 14.47 m
African Championships Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2nd Triple jump 14.36 m SB[18]
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 13th (q) Triple jump 14.11 m   (0.1 m/s)
World Athletics Final Thessaloniki, Greece 4th Triple jump 14.39 m   (-1.0 m/s)
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 19th (q) Triple jump 12.41 m
Representing the  United Kingdom
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 5th Triple jump 14.50 m   (0.4 m/s)
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 1st Triple jump 14.82 m
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 5th Triple jump 14.48 m   (-0.6 m/s)
2013 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 6th Triple jump 13.95 m[19]
European Team Championships Gateshead, United Kingdom 4th Triple jump 13.90 m +1.7[20]
2014 European Team Championships Braunschweig, Germany 6th Triple jump 13.31 m +0.4[21]
Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 7th (q) Triple jump 13.29 m[22]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Focus on Athletes — Yamilé Aldama". IAAF. February 28, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Knight, Tom (January 27, 2004). "Aldama picks Sudan after passport row". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  3. ↑ London 2012 Olympics: Team GB triple jumper Yamile Aldama overcame adversity to show spirit of true champion - Telegraph
  4. ↑ "Athletics: Cuban champion wants to compete for Britain". The Daily Telegraph. July 12, 2002. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  5. ↑ Turnbull, Simon (August 8, 2011). "Aldama's triple jump from Cuba to GB may fall short of Daegu". The Independent. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ Hannah England's injury tops Charles van Commenee's concerns in Rome | Sport | The Guardian
  7. ↑ London 2012: Yamilé Aldama fifth in triple jump final at Olympic Games | Sport | The Guardian
  8. ↑ "Farah and Ennis voted British Athletes of the Year". uka.org.uk. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "Aldama leaps into the record books – but not for winning". independent.co.uk. 6 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  10. ↑ http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/cacjw.htm
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/iac.htm
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/cacgw.htm
  13. ↑ http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/pag.htm
  14. ↑ http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/afc.htm
  15. ↑ http://www.athleticsafrica.com/Outgoing/africalistgreece_ns_200806.html
  16. ↑ http://www.africathle.com/perso/events/ALGER_2007/ALG_results.html
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 http://www.africathle.com/gb/perso/perf/112007.html
  18. ↑ http://tunisathle.voila.net/Evenements/ChAfrSen2008Addis.pdf
  19. ↑ http://www.european-athletics-statistics.org/db/eurathresults.php?CID=12839558#2.340.1
  20. ↑ http://www.european-athletics-statistics.org/db/eurathresults.php?CID=12842931#2.340.1
  21. ↑ http://www.european-athletics.org/competitions/european-team-championships/2014/athletics/event/womens-triple-jump/phase=atw062100/index.html?v=20140621135546&intcmp=[#]-schline-result
  22. ↑ Did not start in the final

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