Paris (AFP) – Spain’s Jordan Diaz won gold in the men’s triple jump at the Paris Olympics on Friday with a jump of 17.86m, leading an all-Cuban exile podium.
Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo, the defending champion, took silver with 17.84m while Andy Diaz representing Italy claimed the bronze with 17.64m.
All three men were born in Cuba and represented the country before switching allegiance.
Jordan Diaz, who defected from the communist state, gained Spanish citizenship in 2022 but was not cleared to compete for his adopted country until June when he promptly won gold in the European Championships.
His victory gives Spain their first Olympic medal in the event.
Pichardo defected in 2017 and competed for Portugal in the Tokyo Olympics when he won gold.
Andy Diaz began the process of switching his allegiance from Cuba to Italy after the Tokyo Olympics and gained Italian citizenship last year.
Jordan Diaz delivered his best jump with his opening effort and although Pichardo was just two hundredths short with his next jump, he could not improve on that as Spain celebrated their win.
Diaz said it was clear that Cuba was able to produce talent but thanked Spain for backing him.
“The situation is very difficult in (Cuba) and many of us have decided to leave for a better for future,” said Jordan Diaz.
“I owe everything to Spain, they have supported me from the beginning, this competition has been beautiful for Spain, the gold is the highest achievement I could imagine,” he said.
Andy Diaz said that he had been in a difficult economic position.
“I didn’t know where to stay, didn’t have money for food, I decided to leave and found brilliant and amazing people who helped me a lot, they gave me all the tools I needed, I am so lucky to get Italian citizenship, it’s great for me,” he said.
“I am a competitive person and Jordan knows that. I am over the moon (to get a medal) representing Italy,” he said.
The 31-year-old Pichardo said he was considering his future in the sport after losing his crown.
“Sadly, it didn’t turn out as I hoped, but this is how competitions are, and in this competition (Olympic Games) you cannot make any mistakes. I made a lot of them and I paid for them. I lost the gold medal,” he said.
“I really don’t know if I want to finish my career here. In my head, it’s making sense to stop here. I still have to talk about it with my family, but I’m not really motivated to go on. I need to think about it.”
