AREQUIPA, Peru – Cuban triple jumper Lázaro Martínez finished fifth on Saturday in the final of the 2024 Athletics Diamond League, held in Brussels, Belgium.
A report from the sports environment Hit It indicates that the athlete was barely able to stretch to 16.23 metres, a mark far from the 17.34 m that is his best result this season.
Based on the figure achieved, Martínez finished second to last among the six finalists who competed in search of the coveted gem in the triple jump.
Originally from Guantanamo province, the triple jumper opened the competition with 16.02 on his first attempt, in his third attempt he reached 16.23; and in his sixth and last attempt he barely made it to the spikes at a distance of 15.91 meters. He also committed three fouls, the media reports.
Peter Paul Pichardo, born in Cuba and naturalized Portuguese, winner of the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and the silver medal at the recent summer event in Paris, took the prize with a record of 17.33 meters.
He was followed by German Max Heb (17.20) and Hugues Fabrice Zango (17.05), from Burkina Faso, world champion in the Hungarian capital, and owner of the bronze medal in the Japanese competition under the five rings.
In his first foray into The Diamond League This season, in Marrakech, Martínez took first place thanks to a jump of 17.10 meters, his best mark of the year. This performance consolidated him as one of the favorites for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
At the Olympics, Lázaro Martínez was the only Cuban to represent the Caribbean island in the triple jump, but he scored 17.34 and finished in eighth place.
Jordan Díaz, Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Andy Díaz displaced the world champion named in Budapest 2023, Burkinabe Hugues Zango (who jumped 17.50 this Friday) and filled the podium.
