Caterine Ibargüen Mena ODB (born 12 February 1984) is a retired Colombian athlete competing in high jump,

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

. Her notable achievements include a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, silver medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics, two gold medals in the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, and two gold medals in the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

and

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak al ...

Biography

Caterine was born in the Urabá region of Antioquia, where she was raised by her grandmother after her parents separated because of the armed conflict in Colombia. Her father left for Venezuela and her mother moved to Turbo, Colombia. Caterine first played volleyball and Wilder Zapata, her coach, noticed her skill and suggested she play in Medellín, which had the high-profile

Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex (officially ''Unidad Deportiva Atanasio Girardot'') is a sports complex located in Medellín, Colombia. The complex includes Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín Sports Coliseum, Luis Alberto Villegas Stadium, an ...

as a venue for national and international games. There she began her training in 1996 with the Cuban coach Jorge Luis Alfaro, specializing in the high jump. Her personal best in the high jump is 1.93 metres, achieved on 22 July 2005 in Cali. This is the current Colombian record. She competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, where jumped 1.85 m in the qualifying round. She held the South American record in the

with 15.31 m from July 2014 until September 2019. That jump remained the best jump since

the Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

in August 2008 until

Yulimar Rojas Yulimar Rojas Rodríguez (Venezuelan ; also known as Yolimar Rojas; born 21 October 1995) is a Venezuelan athlete who holds the world record for women's triple jump, at . She is the current Olympic champion, a three-time World Champion ( 2017 L ...

achieved a mark of 15.41 m at the Jaén Paraíso Interior Meeting. On 1 September 2011 obtained the bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu with a 14.84 m performance. Based in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. Coached by Ubaldo Duany, former Cuban Long Jumper (8.32 m PB from 1986). On 5 August, she won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics in the triple jump competition with a 14.80 m jump on her last attempt. On 15 August 2013 she won IAAF World Championships in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

in the triple jump competition with a 14.85 m jump on her second attempt. Caterine Ibargüen announced retirement in August 2021.

Personal bests

;Outdoor *200 m: 24.96 s (wind: -1.2 m/s) – San Germán, 4 December 2009 *800 m: 2:35.35 min – San Germán, 4 December 2010 *100 m hurdles: 14.09 s (wind: +0.0 m/s) – Mayagüez, 19 February 2011 *High jump: 1.93 m – Cali, 22 July 2005 *Long jump: 6.93 m (wind: +0.8 m/s) –

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...

, 9 September 2018 *Triple jump: 15.31 m (wind: 0.0 m/s) –

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, 18 July 2014 *Shot put: 13.79 m – Carolina, 20 March 2010 *Javelin throw: 37.72 m – San Germán, 4 December 2010 *Heptathlon: 5742 pts – San Germán, 5 December 2009 ;Indoor *High jump: 1.81 m –

, 11 March 2006

International competitions

Honours

*: **

National Order of Merit (Colombia) - ribbon bar

Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (12 December 2018)

Awards

*2018 IAAF Female athlete of the year award

References

External links