With her Achilles tendon injured and “heartbroken”, “Queen Yulimar” Rojas, reigning Olympic champion and holder of the world record in the triple jump (15m74), announced her withdrawal from the 2024 Olympics in which she was the arch-favorite and one of the expected stars. “I will not be able to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It is with great pain and sadness that I want to tell you” that upon landing a jump “I had intense pain, diagnosed as a injury to the left Achilles tendon,” she wrote in a message on Instagram, posting a photo of herself lying on her hospital bed. The 28-year-old athlete underwent surgery at a clinic in Madrid.
Quadruple outdoor world champion and triple indoor champion, athlete of the year in 2020 and 2023, Pan-American and South American champion, multiple winner of the Diamond League, “Queen Yulimar” seemed invincible and only one injury seemed to be able to prevent him from flying to a second consecutive Olympic title. Trained by Cuban long jump legend Ivan Pedroso, Yulimar and her long legs were even cramped in her discipline, considering doubling in Paris with the long jump even if she had not yet been able to achieve the minimum.
Venezuela loses a legend of its sport, and the Games, of which it was one of the great attractions, lose a star, who shines on the track but also off it. Yulimar was one of the most famous faces in athletics since the retirement of Jamaican Usain Bolt. Discreet about her private relationships, she proudly defends her homosexuality and the LGBT community.
Based in Spain, Yulimar Rojas emerged from the disadvantaged neighborhoods of the suburbs of Puerto La Cruz (300 km from Caracas) to leap towards glory. She lived for a long time in a small house, immersed in an ocean of houses with tin roofs. In 2015, her life took on a new dimension when Facebook suggested Ivan Pedroso as a “friend”. She sends him a message, telling him that he is her idol. To her great surprise, the Cuban star offered to work with her, at FC Barcelona where he officiates.
The triple jumper begins an irresistible ascent. Olympic vice-champion in Rio, she monopolizes the world titles until her masterpiece in Tokyo: Olympic gold and world record (15.67 m). Record that she raised to 15.74 m in Belgrade less than a year later. Paris held out its arms and its laurels to him, fate broke his Achilles tendon and his new flight towards the summits.
