COLOMBIA: OLYMPICS/LONG JUMP - Colombia's Ibarguen looks to give South American nation second-ever Olympic gold medal

Record ID: 330857

  • Title: COLOMBIA: OLYMPICS/LONG JUMP - Colombia's Ibarguen looks to give South American nation second-ever Olympic gold medal
  • Date: 7th July 2012
  • Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF TRACK AND FIELD STADIUM VARIOUS OF COLOMBIAN LONG JUMPER AND TRIPLE JUMPER CATERINE IBARGUEN WARMING UP TRACK OFFICIALS PREPARING LONG JUMP PIT IBARGUEN PREPARING TO COMPETE IBARGUEN PUTTING SHOES ON VARIOUS OF IBARGUEN BEFORE JUMPING VARIOUS OF IBARGUEN JUMPING GENERAL VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIAN LONG JUMPER AND TRIPLE JUMPER CATERINE IBARGUEN SAYING: "There are a lot of possibilities. I'm a very optimistic person and my trainer has always been very clear. We know from the trials that my strong suit is the triple jump, but decided to do the long jump because it's after the triple jump. There are a lot of possibilities. Once an athlete is in this competition anyone can win, so I'm going to give the best of myself in the long jump as well as the triple jump and who knows, I might be able to give the Colombian people a reason to celebrate in the triple jump as well." IBARGUEN DOING LONG JUMP (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIAN LONG JUMPER AND TRIPLE JUMPER CATERINE IBARGUEN SAYING: "Right now, I don't feel that much pressure. I'm thankful to the Colombian people for having confidence in me and for supporting me. But I don't feel any pressure. I feel good. It's a very heavy weight, right? But I'm letting my trainer carry it." VARIOUS OF IBARGUEN SITTING IN STADIUM PEOPLE WATCHING VARIOUS OF IBARGUEN JUMPING TAPE SHOWING IBARGUEN BREAKING COLOMBIAN LONG JUMP RECORD IBARGUEN WAVING TO FANS
  • Embargoed: 22nd July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Colombia
  • Country: Colombia
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA7LMIXCOG5MZM7M74BWPDZM4OL
  • Story Text: Colombian Caterine Ibarguen is likely the South American nation's best shot at a gold medal at the London Olympics, but she says she isn't feeling the heat.
    Maybe it's because of the performances Ibarguen has turned in over the past two years. Last year, Ibarguen was joint number one in the triple jump, her strongest event, after leaping 14.99 metres at a meet in Colombia in August 2011, matching a mark set two months earlier by Cuban Yargelis Savigne.
    She is at the top again this year with a 14.95 metre best and took bronze at last year's world championship.
    Ibarguen and her trainer, Cuban Ubaldo Duany, know their best shot is in the triple jump, but aren't shying away from a possible medal in the long jump.

    "There are a lot of possibilities. I'm a very optimistic person and my trainer has always been very clear. We know from the trials that my strong suit is the triple jump, but decided to do the long jump because it's after the triple jump. There are a lot of possibilities. Once an athlete is in this competition anyone can win, so I'm going to give the best of myself in the long jump as well as the triple jump and who knows, I might be able to give the Colombian people a reason to celebrate in the long jump as well," she said after the June 30 meet in Bogota.
    She added that pressure of the nation's hopes aren't going to weigh her down when it's her turn to jump at the London games, which start July 27.

    "Right now, I don't feel that much pressure. I'm thankful to the Colombian people for having confidence in me and for supporting me.
    But I don't feel any pressure. I feel good. It's a very heavy weight, right? But I'm letting my trainer carry it," the 28-year-old athlete said.
    In late June, Ibarguen gave local fans a treat by breaking her own Colombian long jump record, soaring 6.73 metres and breaking the country-best mark of 6.69 she had set a week earlier.
    At the Bogota meet, she also registered a 6.87 mark, but it was deemed wind-aided by officials.
    Ibarguen is currently competing in Europe to tune up for the Olympics. Colombia's only Olympic gold medal came in Sydney in 2000 from weightlifter Maria Isabel Urrutia.
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