Maykel Massó
Havana, September 9 (JIT) -- Maykel Massó's third place in the long jump was the highlight for Cuba in the final of the Diamond League, held in Zurich, Switzerland.
Massó, Olympic bronze medalist at Tokyo 2020, only executed a couple of jumps with records of 8.05 and 8.01 meters and then gave up the next four jumps on the recommendation of his trainer Daniel Osorio, as the Santiago native felt a discomfort in his calf muscles.
Ahead of Massó were the Olympic champion, the Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou (8.42) and the American Marquis Dendy (8.16).
There was also Cuban presence in the triple jump, but the world indoor champion Lazaro Martinez suffered an injury from the previous week in Brussels and could not compete at his best. The Cuban was sixth with 16.75m, although he was satisfied with the great season he has completed, with the world indoor gold, with a personal best (17.64) and also an outdoor personal best (17.50).
The triple was dominated, with a personal best of 17.70, by another Cuban, Andy Díaz, who no longer represents the Cuban athletics federation, followed by Pedro Pablo Pichardo (17.63) and Jordan Díaz (17.60), also trained in the Cuban triple school.
In the women's event, there was no coincidence with Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas, once again the only one capable of surpassing 15 meters, with 15.28.
Latin America also celebrated in the women's 400 meters, won by the Dominican Marileidy Paulino with a national record of 48.99 seconds, followed by the Dominican Fiordaliza Cofil (49.98).
In the men's pole vault, the Swedish "phenomenon" Armand Duplantis once again planted the flag at the top with a meeting record of 6.07 meters, while in the 100 meters, Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continued to make history with a fabulous time of 10.65 seconds, to win the fifth diamond of her life.
Other winners were Grenada's Kirani James in the 400 meters (44.26), Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1500 meters (3:29.02 minutes), the Netherlands' Femke Bol in the 400 hurdles (53.03 seconds).
The Zurich event brought the prestigious circuit to an end for the current season. All the winners secured their presence at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest 2023, which will allocate the first places for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
