Cubans Pedro Pablo Pichardo, who is now a Portuguese national, and Jordan Díaz, representing Spain, stole the show in the qualifying round of the men's triple jump and showed a great rivalry heading into the final of the European Athletics Championship taking place in Rome, Italy.
Pichardo, 30 years old and Olympic champion from Tokyo 2020, and Díaz, 23, challenged each other after easily dominating the stage, with marks of 17.48 and 17.52 meters, respectively, both far ahead of the rest of the competitors.
In a dialogue published in the newspaper Marca, the youngest one, originally from Havana and owner of exceptional physical conditions, stated: "he is the champion and I am the newcomer who is here to take away his title. That's how it is."
The athlete from Santiago, on his part, went further in terms of sports at the mixed zone of the sports facility. In response to Ismael Pérez, from Runner's magazine, who reminded him that he has not surpassed 18 meters in a long time, the world champion replied in a challenging tone: "What's your name? You wait for me here on Tuesday night and I will answer you."
Undoubtedly, the challenge is set less than two months before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will mark the debut under the five rings of the young Díaz, currently trained by his compatriot Iván Pedroso, a living legend of the long jump.
Pedroso, the titleholder of Sydney 2000 and several times world champion in outdoor and indoor athletics, is one of the most successful coaches in the athletic field, as he also coaches the stellar Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas, the Spanish Ana Peleteiro, and his compatriot Juan Miguel Echevarría.
The European "track and field" party, from June 7th to 12th, has among its absentees another Cuban who stands out in the men's triple jump and represents the colors of Italy: Andy Díaz, who is among the leaders of the world ranking.
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