 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Yarisley Silva Rodríguez |
| Born | (1987-06-01)1 June 1987 (age 37) San Luis,Pinar del Río,Cuba |
| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Cuba |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Pole vault |
| Coached by | Alexander Navas |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest | 4.91 m |
Medal record | |
| Updated on 7 January 2015 | |
Yarisley Silva Rodríguez (born 1 June 1987) is a Cubanpole vaulter.[1] She won thesilver medal at the2012 Summer Olympics – the firstLatin American athlete to win anOlympic medal in that event.
Silva became the first Cuban woman to reach a world class standard in the pole vault. Her personal bests of 4.90 m (16 ft3⁄4 in) outdoors and 4.78 m (15 ft 8 in) indoors are theCuban andCentral American and Caribbean records for the event.
She emerged at the regional level with a silver medal at the2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, and abronze medal at the2007 Pan American Games. She then wongold medals at the2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics and the2011 Pan American Games.
Silva represented Cuba at the2008 Summer Olympics and came fifth at the2011 World Championships in Athletics.
Born inPinar del Río in Cuba, Silva began to participate inpole vault competitions from the age of twelve.[2] Many women in her family took part inathletics and her mother was ajavelin thrower.[3] In spite of its strong traditions intrack and field, pole vaulting was a discipline in which Cuba had not historically been successful. As a result, Silva quickly established herself nationally at the age of sixteen, coming second at theCuban Athletics Championships and winning theBarrientos Memorial in 2003.[4] In 2004, she cleared four metres for the first time, which was a Central American and Caribbean junior record. She improved this to 4.10 m at the 2005 Barrientos meet, winning the competition again.[3]
The 2006 season saw her win her first national title and take a third Barrientos Memorial win. She competed internationally for the first time, taking silver at theCentral American and Caribbean Games,[5] but failing to clear a height at the2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics after her poles did not arrive at the competition. Silva ended the season having improved her regional junior record to 4.20 m.[3] In her first year of senior competition she won gold at the2007 ALBA Games and a bronze at the2007 Pan American Games. The latter was her country's first medal in the event at the Games and she broke theCentral American and Caribbean record with her clearance of 4.30 m. She improved to 4.50 m in early 2008, but a lack of high level competitions meant she managed on 4.15 m in qualifying on herOlympic debut in Beijing.[3]
Silva competed solely inHavana in 2009 and 2010, but still managed to equal her personal best, win the Barrientos meet, and take the gold medal at the2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics with achampionship record of 4.40 m.[6]
The 2011 season marked the first time she gained the chance to compete on the international circuit against world class opposition.[3] She competed extensively and had a series of top three finishes across Europe. She broke her personal best on five occasions that year, improving from 4.55 m to 4.75 m over the course of the year.[7]
Silva, coached by Alexander Navas, and her fellow Cuban vaulterLazaro Borges both emerged as top level athletes in the men's and women's pole vault that year. At the2011 World Championships in Athletics she came fifth in the final with a regional record vault of 4.70 m, while Borges broke the Cuban record to take the men's silver medal. The pair took gold medals in their events at the end-of-season2011 Pan American Games, where Silva beat world championFabiana Murer with agames record mark of 4.75 m.[3]
Her first indoor meetings came at the start of 2012. In February she setCuban indoor records of 4.60 m at thePole Vault Stars meet, 4.71 m at theMeeting Pas de Calais, then 4.72 m at theXL Galan, finishing in the top three each time.[8][9] Silva placed seventh at the2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Outdoors she competed five times on the2012 IAAF Diamond League circuit and was always in the top three,[3] including a victory at theDN Galan.[10] At the2012 London Olympics she equalled her personal best of 4.75 m in thewomen's pole vault final to place second behindJenn Suhr and win the silver medal – an Olympic first in the pole vault by a Latin American athlete.[11]
Silva began 2013 with a world-leading mark of 4.76 m to win the Pole Vault Stars meeting.[12] She added two centimetres to this mark two weeks later while winning the XL Galan.[13] Returning to Havana for the national championships in March, she vaulted over 4.81 m to add six centimetres to her outdoor best. Taking aim at greater heights, she altered her technique, holding the pole higher and extending her run-up.[14] Silva improved her record again at theDrake Relays on 26 April, winning with 4.85 m and beating Suhr[15] and then cleared 4.90 inHengelo, Netherlands. She took the bronze medal at theWorld Athletics Championships in Moscow with a jump of 4.82 m, behindYelena Isinbayeva andJennifer Suhr.
During winter 2014, Silva became world champion at theWorld Indoor Championships held in Sopot. She later won the outdoor world title at the2015 World Championships inBeijing jumping 4.90 m.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing Cuba | ||||
| 2006 | Central American and Caribbean Games | Cartagena, Colombia | 2nd | 3.95 m |
| World Junior Championships | Beijing,China | – | NH | |
| 2007 | ALBA Games | Caracas,Venezuela | 1st | 4.15 m |
| Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 3rd | 4.30 m | |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 27th (q) | 4.15 m |
| 2009 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Havana, Cuba | 1st | 4.40 m |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 5th | 4.70 m |
| Pan American Games | Guadalajara, Mexico | 1st | 4.75 m | |
| 2012 | World Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 7th | 4.55 m |
| Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 2nd | 4.75 m | |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 3rd | 4.82 m |
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 1st | 4.70 m |
| Central American and Caribbean Games | Xalapa, Mexico | 1st | 4.60 mA | |
| 2015 | Pan American Games | Toronto, Canada | 1st | 4.85 m |
| World Championships | Beijing, China | 1st | 4.90 m | |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 7th | 4.60 m |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 3rd | 4.65 m |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 7th | 4.60 m |
| Central American and Caribbean Games | Barranquilla, Colombia | 1st | 4.70 m | |
| NACAC Championships | Toronto, Canada | 2nd | 4.70 m | |
| 2019 | Pan American Games | Lima, Peru | 1st | 4.75 m |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 11th | 4.70 m | |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 8th | 4.50 m |
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World Indoor Champions in women'spole vault | |
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