Hayla Gonzalez
Havana, Mar 10 (JIT) - Three Cubans won prizes today at the City of Salamanca Indoor Track and Field Trophy in Spain. This event grabbed headlines due to the announced return to competition of the stellar Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas.
After almost two years after the injury that kept her out of the spotlight, the world record holder in the specialty now ventured into the long jump to qualify for the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing 2025, scheduled for the end of this month.
The plan did not come to fruition. Evident discomfort in her right leg led Yulimar to fail in her four attempts, thus postponing the triumphant return of the charismatic jumper, trained by Cuban Ivan Pedroso, and widely followed worldwide.
This time, the victory went to the host, Carmen Rosales, thanks to a jump of 6.39 meters. She was followed on the podium by Portugal's Evelise Veiga (6.27 meters) and Cuba's Hayla González with a 6.19 meters, far from her best performances.
Hayla aimed for a mark as close as possible to 6.90 meters, the minimum required to ensure her presence in the imminent universal indoor event. Last year, she jumped 6.85m outdoors, which she has not been able to approach during the current winter tour, in which she exhibits as a ceiling the 6.41m achieved in February in Amiens, France.
His teammates Aniel Molina, Alejandro Parada, and Juan Miguel Echevarría were far from the possibility of getting a ticket to the Chinese city.
The first two of them finished with maximums of 7.91 and 7.85 meters, respectively, which allowed them to occupy the first places ahead of the local Eusebio Cáceres (7.63).
As for Juan Miguel, who assumed his second presentation in the season, marking his return to competitions representing the Cuban federation, he anchored in the fourth place by reaching 7.48 meters. His main focus for now is on getting back in shape for outdoor competitions.
Pending the official registration for Nanjing 2025, and if nothing new happens, everything points to the fact that Cuba will be represented only by triple jumpers Leyanis Perez, Liadagmis Povea, and Lazaro Martinez.
