Denia Caballero Ponce (born 13 January 1990) is a Cuban

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who competes in the discus throw. She has a personal best of 70.65 metres for the event. She won the gold medal at the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships and was the bronze medalist at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. Caballero also was the Central American and Caribbean champion in 2011 and 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, ...

bronze medallist.

Career

Born in

Caibarién Caibarién is a municipality city in the Villa Clara Province, Villa Clara province of Cuba. Caibarién is known as "La Villa Blanca" () for its sands and beaches. They are famous for their "Parrandas" (Carnivals) along with Remedios, Cuba, Reme ...

, Villa Clara Province, she took part in track and field as a teenager and at the age of eighteen she cleared fifty metres in the javelin for the first time, setting a personal best mark of 52.10 m,Caballero Denia
. IAAF. Retrieved on 26 July 2012. and became the Cuban junior champion. Her family have all been involved in sports, her father as a boxer and her mother as a long jumper. Her uncle, Ricardo Ponce, is a triple jump coach for the Cuban national team. In 2009, she had a succession of personal bests including 56.91 m for fourth at the 2009 ALBA Games and 57.21 m at a meeting in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. Caballero came third at both the

Barrientos Memorial The Barrientos Memorial ( es, Memorial José Barrientos) is an annual track and field meeting in Havana, Cuba each May. The event was first held in 1946, in recognition of José Barrientos (a former Cuban Olympic sprinter), who died in an aviation ...

and ''

Olimpiada del Deporte Cubano Olimpiada may refer to: * Olimpiada (given name) * Olimpiada mine, a gold mine in Russia * Olimpiada Neapolis, a volleyball club in Nicosia, Cyprus * Olimpiada Neapolis FC, a former association football club in Nicosia, Cyprus See also * Olympiada ...

'' in Havana in 2010 (improving her best mark to 59.30 then 59.92 m). Havana was again the venue for her first throw over sixty metres in 2011, as she had a mark of 60.50 m then won the Barrientos meet a week later with a best of 62.94 m. This earned her a spot at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

and she reached the final round, finishing ninth with a mark of 60.73 m. She had much success regionally that year, winning the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the

2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The event served as classifiers for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and took place from July 15–17, 2011. It was the fourth time P ...

, as well as a bronze medal at the

(an event won by fellow Cuban

Yarelys Barrios Yarelys Barrios Castañeda (also ''Yarelis Barrios Castañeda''; born July 12, 1983, in Pinar del Río) is a discus thrower from Cuba. Career She won the ''Diamond Race'' in the women's discus throw of the IAAF Diamond League both in 2010 an ...

). A throw of 65.60 m in March 2012 lifted her to fourth in the world rankings and she was later chosen to perform in the discus alongside Barrios in 2012 Cuban Olympic squad. At the 2013 World Championships, she finished 8th. She won the gold medal at the

2014 Central American and Caribbean Games The 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games were held November 14–30, 2014 in Veracruz, Mexico.Sport page

with a new games record. The record had been set in 1982 by fellow Cuban Maria Betancourt. In 2015, as well as setting a new personal best, she won the
Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
, and produced a shock upset, beating pre-competition favourite Sandra Perkovic to win the World Championship. Caballero was the first Cuban discus thrower to win the World title. She won the bronze medal at the women's discus throw event at the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
.

Personal bests

Achievements

References

External links
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caballero, Denia 1990 births Living people People from Caibarién Cuban female discus throwers Olympic athletes of Cuba Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Cuba World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists for Cuba Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games World Athletics Championships winners Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Cuban women