Cuban triple jumper Jordan Díaz among the nominees for European Athlete of the Year.

The Cuban triple jumper nationalized Spanish, Jordan Alejandro Díaz Fortún, has been included among the ten nominees for the European Athlete of the Year award, as announced by European Athletics.

In his first season representing the Iberian country, Díaz has had an outstanding performance during which he became the continental champion and more recently, the Olympic champion, after winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Before the French competition in June, the Cuban confirmed his talent by achieving the third best record in history: 18.18 meters, which he reached at the European Athletics Championship.

In that event, held in Rome, Jordan Díaz had a memorable clash with the Cuban-Portuguese Pedro Pablo Pichardo, in which both surpassed 18 meters.

The Hispanic-Cuban achieved the third best mark of all time, surpassed only by the legendary Jonathan Edwards (18.29 m) and Christian Taylor (18.21 m).

Thanks to those achievements, Jordan Díaz has secured his place among the contenders for this prestigious award, which has recognized the best athlete on the European continent since 1993.

"It's almost impossible to win, but being nominated is already a big step in my career. I really appreciate the support I have received during this incredible year," the athlete wrote on X upon learning of his nomination for Best European Athlete of 2024.

In addition to Jordan Díaz, the male nominees include renowned athletes such as the Lithuanian Mykolas Alekna, the Olympic champion in discus throw; and the Swedish Armand Duplantis, who has broken three world records in pole vaulting this year.

In the women's category, the highlights include the Dutch athletes Sifan Hassan and Femke Bol, the Italian Nadia Battocletti, and the Belgian Nafissatou Thiam, among others.

The winners of the award will be announced on October 26 at a gala that will take place in Skopje, Macedonia.

Jordan Díaz's riskiest jump

In 2021, Jordan Díaz decided to eliminate the possibility of competing in the Tokyo Olympic Games by leaving the Cuban training camp during a training tour in Spain.

Many were surprised because the decision was not easy. However, the young triple jumper had a plan that involved conserving his strength to shine in Paris 2024.

With total patience, he waited for the moment to be nationalized as Spanish and chose his running mate: his fellow countryman and former long jumper, Iván Pedroso, currently considered the best triple jump coach in the world.

For Jordan Díaz, after being nationalized in 2022, everything was on the rise, and his spectacular 2024 attests to that.