Yamilé Aldama Pozo (; born 14 August 1972) is a Cuban-born triple jumper. She represented Cuba until 2003, Sudan from 2004 to 2010, then Great Britain from 2011 onwards. A four-time Olympian (2000–12), she won a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2012 World Indoor Championships.
Life and career Aldama was born in Havana, Cuba, and initially represented her country of birth. At first she competed in high jump and heptathlon events, but in 1994 she tried triple jump and two years later qualified for the Olympic team for 1996 Summer Olympics. Unable to compete there due to injury next year she reached the final at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships finishing in sixth place. Two years later she won her only medal to date at the major international final taking silver medal at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics in Seville, Spain. The next year at the 2000 Summer Olympics she finished in fourth position thus cementing her place as an elite triple jumper.
In 2001, she married Andrew Dodds, a Scottish television producer, and thereafter relocated to the United Kingdom. Following her marriage she applied for British citizenship. However, shortly after, her husband was sentenced to 15 years for his part in trafficking heroin valued at £40million. Unconnected to the offence herself, she decided to remain in the United Kingdom with her husband. As she had not lived in Britain before, she had to wait the mandatory three-year period to achieve a passport. She expressed her decision to represent Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and was supported by David Moorcroft. Due to this she did not take part in the 2003 World Championships as this would have hindered her chance to switch allegiance to Great Britain.
However, in 2004 the British passport agency refused to push forward her application for a passport. As she moved to Great Britain in November 2001, she would not have been eligible for a passport until November 2004, three months after the Olympics. Aldama instead sought a new country to represent, and after offers from Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic she instead switched to Sudan.
After acquiring Sudanese citizenship on 23 January 2004, she went to represent Sudan at the 2004 Summer Olympics where she finished in fifth place. In 2004, she also broke the Sudanese triple jump record achieving 15.28 metres. After again taking fourth place at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics she missed the finals at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships as well as the final of 2008 Summer Olympics.
On 5 February 2010, nearly ten years after her initial application, she finally gained British citizenship and a year later, now competing as a Great Britain representative, took fifth-place finish at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.
On 9 March 2012, at the age of 39 years, Aldama became the IAAF World Indoor Champion in Triple Jump, in Istanbul, Turkey, the second oldest athlete ever to achieve the feat. In the process, just over five months before her 40th birthday, she improved upon the Masters W35 record twice. The indoor results have not been ratified as a world record, but later in May she jumped 14.65 at the Rome Diamond League meet to set what is the current record. On that jump, she landed awkwardly and injured her shoulder. She had to compete in the 2012 Olympics, less than a month short of 40 years old, with the injury still finishing fifth.
At the British Athletics Writers' Association awards in October 2012, Aldama collected the BAWA's 2012 Inspiration award. She also finished third behind winner Jessica Ennis and Christine Ohuruogu in the placings for "British Athlete of the Year".
In January 2013, Aldama made the decision to represent Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, making her the first athlete to have competed for four different nations. She achieved the feat by participating in this competition, albeit on behalf of England instead.
Achievements Representing 1988CAC Junior Championships (U-20)Nassau, Bahamas1stHigh jump1.78 m4thLong jump5.48 m1990CAC Junior Championships (U-20)Havana, Cuba3rdHigh jump1.70 m1996Ibero-American ChampionshipsMedellín, Colombia1stTriple jump14.39 m CR1997World Indoor ChampionshipsParis, France6thTriple jump14.28 mCentral American and Caribbean ChampionshipsSan Juan, Puerto Rico 2ndTriple jump14.12 m wWorld ChampionshipsAthens, Greece13th (q)Triple jump14.09 m (0.0 m/s)1998Ibero-American ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal1stTriple jump14.07 mCentral American and Caribbean GamesMaracaibo, Venezuela 1stTriple jump14.34 mWorld CupJohannesburg, South Africa 3rdTriple jump14.29 m (0.6 m/s)1999World Indoor ChampionshipsMaebashi, Japan7thTriple jump14.47 mWorld ChampionshipsSeville, Spain 2ndTriple jump14.61 m (−0.4 m/s)IAAF Grand Prix FinalMunich, Germany 7thTriple jump14.18 m (−0.2 m/s)Pan American GamesWinnipeg, Canada 1stTriple jump14.77 m CR2000Olympic GamesSydney4thTriple jump14.30 m (−0.9 m/s)2003World Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco 2ndTriple jump14.99 m (0.2 m/s)Representing 2004World Indoor ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary 2ndTriple jump14.90 mAfrican ChampionshipsBrazzaville, Republic of the Congo 1stTriple jump14.90 mOlympic GamesAthens, Greece5thTriple jump14.99 m (0.1 m/s)World Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco 3rdTriple jump14.92 m (0.2 m/s)2005World ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland4thTriple jump14.72 m (0.8 m/s)World Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco6thTriple jump14.26 m (0.8 m/s)2006World Indoor ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia 3rdTriple jump14.86 mAfrican ChampionshipsBambous, Mauritius 1stTriple jump14.71 m w (2.6 m/s)World Athletics FinalStuttgart, Germany 3rdTriple jump14.67 m (−0.1 m/s)World CupAthens, Greece 3rdTriple jump14.78 m (1.0 m/s)2007All-Africa GamesAlgiers, Algeria 1stTriple jump14.46 mWorld Athletics FinalStuttgart, Germany4thTriple jump14.41 m (0.3 m/s)Pan Arab GamesCairo, Egypt 2ndHigh jump1.77 mResults November 2007 2ndLong jump6.05 mWorld ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan12th (q)Triple jump13.46 m (−0.2 m/s)2008World Indoor ChampionshipsValencia, Spain5thTriple jump14.47 mAfrican ChampionshipsAddis Ababa, Ethiopia 2ndTriple jump14.36 m SB2009World ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany13th (q)Triple jump14.11 m (0.1 m/s)World Athletics FinalThessaloniki, Greece 4thTriple jump14.39 m (−1.0 m/s)2010World Indoor ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar19th (q)Triple jump12.41 mRepresenting 2011World ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea5thTriple jump14.50 m (0.4 m/s)2012World Indoor ChampionshipsIstanbul, Turkey 1stTriple jump14.82 mOlympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom5thTriple jump14.48 m (−0.6 m/s)2013European Indoor ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden6thTriple jump13.95 mEuropean Team ChampionshipsGateshead, United Kingdom4thTriple jump13.90 m +1.72014European Team ChampionshipsBraunschweig, Germany6thTriple jump13.31 m +0.4Representing 2014Commonwealth GamesGlasgow, United Kingdom7th (q)Triple jump13.29 mDid not start in the final
References
External links
Sports-Reference.com profile for Yamilé Aldama