Yamilé Aldama Pozo (born August 14, 1972) is a Cuban-born triple jumper currently competing for Great Britain after formerly representing Cuba and Sudan.
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 drug trafficking heroin valued at £40million.[2] Unconnected to the offence herself, she decided to remain in the United Kingdom with her husband. 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.[3] 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[4] 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 5 months shy of her 40th birthday, she improved upon the Masters W35 record twice.
[edit] Achievements
| Year |
Competition |
Venue |
Position |
Event |
Notes |
Representing  Cuba |
| 1988 |
Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-20) |
Nassau, Bahamas |
1st |
High jump |
1.78 m |
| 4th |
Long jump |
5.48 m |
| 1990 |
Central American and Caribbean 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 |
| Olympic Games |
Atlanta, United States |
DNS |
Triple jump |
|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Central American and Caribbean Games |
Maracaibo, Venezuela |
1st |
Triple jump |
14.34 m |
| 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) |
| Pan American Games |
Winnipeg, Canada |
1st |
Triple jump |
14.77 m CR |
| 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 |
| Olympic Games |
Athens, Greece |
5th |
Triple jump |
14.99 m (0.1 m/s) |
| African Championships |
Brazzaville, Congo |
1st |
Triple jump |
14.90 m |
| 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) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 2nd |
Long jump |
6.05 m |
| 2008 |
World Indoor Championships |
Valencia, Spain |
5th |
Triple jump |
14.47 m |
| African Championships |
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
2nd |
Triple jump |
14.36 m SB |
| 2009 |
World Championships |
Berlin, Germany |
13th (q) |
Triple jump |
14.11 m (0.1 m/s) |
| 2010 |
World Indoor Championships |
Doha, Qatar |
19th (q) |
Triple jump |
12.41 m |
Representing  Great Britain |
| 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 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Focus on Athletes - Yamilé Aldama". IAAF. February 28, 2008. http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=26945.html. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
- ^ a b Knight, Tom (January 27, 2004). "Aldama picks Sudan after passport row". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/2371972/Athletics-Aldama-picks-Sudan-after-passport-row.html. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
- ^ "Athletics: Cuban champion wants to compete for Britain". The Daily Telegraph. July 12, 2002. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/3031020/Athletics-Cuban-champion-wants-to-compete-for-Britain.html?ito=feeds-newsxml. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
- ^ Turnbull, Simon (August 8, 2011). "Aldama's triple jump from Cuba to GB may fall short of Daegu". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/aldamas-triple-jump-from-cuba-to-gb-may-fall-short-of-daegu-2333524.html. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
[edit] External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Aldama, Yamile |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
Athletics (sport) competitor |
| Date of birth |
August 14, 1972 |
| Place of birth |
|
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
Cuba
Sudan
Great Britain
