Jaxier Sotomayor (Havana, 2007) attacks the bar with a fast stride and takes off with power. The boy falls again and again on the mattresses of the Fuente de la Niña Athletics Tracks, in Guadalajara. There he has been training day by day for three years alongside Olympic champions such as Jordan Díaz, Yulimar Rojas and Marileidy Paulino. “They are the mirror in which I try to look at myself,” says the heir of Javier Sotomayor, world high jump record holder for more than three decades.
How were your beginnings in athletics?
I started since I was little. At six years old I was already practicing, I had training twice a week, although I started seriously when I was 12. I really liked running, more than high jumping, but when I grew up I got into this world and I haven’t gone out again. From time to time my dad tells me to try the triple, but I want to continue at the height. For now, I’m going to compete in this modality and see how far I can go. You never know.
At 17 years old you are already close to 2.10 meters. Do you feel satisfied with the progression?
Last year, in the Absolute Indoor Club Championship I reached 2.01, and in August 2025, at the Meliz Sports International Meeting, I rose to 2.08, which is my best mark, but I am not completely satisfied, I know I need to continue climbing. Among those under 18 years of age in Spain there are still several athletes who have achieved better results than me, so I have no choice but to improve myself.
Just the day you achieved 2.08 you surpassed your personal best twice. Did you expect such a big evolution in a relatively short period of time?
That day I had the feeling that I could improve my records, but I didn’t imagine how much. I think this gives me a lot of confidence for next season. The evolution has been great and the main reason is that I have gained a lot in discipline. Right now I have nothing to do with who I was in 2024, for example. Let’s say that now I understand a little more that my life is going to be in sport no matter what, it is my dream and I am giving everything to go far, enjoying height by height.
Talent or work? What has had the most impact on your results?
Part and part. Obviously, I have special genetics, but no matter how much talent you have, if you don’t work on it, it’s of no use to you. My dad always sets his example for me. At 16 years old he was already jumping over 2.30, but without dedicating himself completely to the sport he would not have been able to climb higher and remain in the elite for so many years above 2.40.
What do you think are your greatest potentials?
I usually focus a lot when it comes to facing rivals. I don’t like anyone bothering me or talking to people while I’m warming up or when the competition is about to start.
And deficiencies?
Although it may seem contradictory, I get distracted very easily. Maybe it has to do with youth, with immaturity, but I get distracted with anything and that affects me a lot. I would tell you that right now it is my biggest problem, which is why my father insists a lot on me to try to isolate myself when I enter the court.
You talk a lot about your father. Isn’t it too big a challenge to compete in the same discipline in which you became the best in history?
Obviously, it’s a lot of pressure, but every time people compare me I try to avoid it. My father has his career and I have mine. No matter how much he jumped, it doesn’t mean I’m going to do the same. I try to get away from that a little, which doesn’t take away the pressure, but it is my method to avoid it.
Furthermore, I understand that it is something that I will have to live with today, tomorrow and always, because my father’s legacy is not going to disappear and we will inevitably be related. But I have gotten it into my head that I don’t jump because I am Sotomayor’s son, I jump because I train to do so.
What values has he transmitted to you to succeed in sport?
He has always insisted to me that you have to have discipline, focus and dedication, without that talent is worthless. And it has also made me see that I must be patient, because things are not always going to turn out the way you want and that doesn’t mean you give up.
How was it in the coaching role?
Very strict, sometimes too strict. I don’t know if it was like that with the other athletes he has trained, but it didn’t give me any respite.
They were separated for long periods due to your father’s engagements. How was your time working without a coach?
It was difficult, I had to spend a lot of time away from him and preparation with your coach by your side is not the same as doing almost everything alone. Although in those moments I did not lose motivation and I worked with a lot of will, climbing peaks and crushing myself in the sand with no one by my side, it may have affected me.
In any case, I couldn’t tell you exactly. Maybe if my father had been here, he is so strict, he would have injured me. Maybe he was jumping more or less, who knows.
Now you are full time with the Venezuelan Ámbar Sánchez in charge of the training. What do you feel has changed in preparation?
Ámbar has really been close to me for a long time, I think that since I arrived in Spain she has always accompanied me in some way, so it has not been a sudden change like when you start working with a new person. That detail has made things a lot easier for me.
With it I think I have improved a lot in muscle strengthening, something that I was missing. I have always jumped well, I have it naturally, but I couldn’t withstand impacts. So we have focused on working with weights, doing some weightlifting exercises taking advantage of the fact that she knows about that subject because she is also a weight athlete. Thanks to all that I have seen results. Furthermore, we have not neglected technique. I have corrected some errors in the race and takeoff, always paying attention to detail and trying to enjoy.
Has it been positive then not to have your father as a coach?
Without lying to you, at first it was an emotional downturn, because the fact that the best in the world trained me felt like a kind of protection or impulse, I don’t know. But later I managed to manage it well. I tried to look for the positive side, with a lot of support from my family, my coach, my friends and also from my father, to whom I tell how things are going.
We talk about the time you share in training with Jordan Díaz or Yulimar Rojas. What does it mean to work alongside these stars?
Every time I see Yuli or Jordan jump I imagine a future like theirs, being an Olympic champion, with records. We have excellent chemistry. They are the best in the world and being close to them is an additional motivation to continue working hard.
No Spaniard has jumped 2.30 in this century. Would that be a goal if you competed for Spain?
Of course. I trust myself a lot. I can’t guarantee that I will make one brand or another, but I do trust. Right now, there is no ceiling in my mind, so I try not to think too long term. For 2026, for example, I want to reach the U-20 World Cup in Eugene.
That’s already a jump to the elite…
Since I was little my dream is to compete at the highest level. In my room I imagine myself in the Olympics or the World Cup.
Have you been to Salamanca?
Yes, I won a championship there.
What feelings did you have there where your father set more than one world record?
In the championship that I won, it was not on the same track as the records, but last year I did have a competition in Helmántico and I had not realized it. I arrived at the track very calm and when I entered the jumping area and saw the plate, I felt a lot of pressure, but I managed to handle it and jumped well.
Who are your idols in sports?
The athletes who inspire me the most are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lebron James.
And in the high jump?
I always tell my dad that he was the best, but I prefer Barshim.
How is that possible?
It’s a question of style, of taste. Barshim’s technique is impressive and that has always caught my attention.
Have you considered practicing another sport or another modality within athletics?
I still have time to try the triple, but other than that I’m not considering anything else.
How do you balance life as a student and athlete?
I’m doing quite well, with one class session and another training session. There is a lot of demand, but so far it is not difficult for me. I am also clear that there cannot be any failure, because the family does not admit mistakes with studies, especially my mother. It is stricter than with jumping. With that I tell you everything.
You were born in Cuba and have lived in Spain since 2021. Have you already decided where you are going to compete?
I get asked that question a lot, but the truth is that I still don’t know if I will represent Cuba or Spain in the future.
