Cuban Athlete Outstanding in Youth Olympic Games

Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun is the reigning youth world champion in his discipline and holds the junior world record

Cuban athlete Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun is the reigning youth world champion in his discipline and holds the junior world record. He dominated the first stage of the triple jump competition held on Saturday, October 13 at the Youth Olympic Park.

Jordan Alejandro Fortun Diaz became interested in athletics when he was eight years old. He began with the high jump and later decided to try the long jump, only to realise that the discipline that he was really excited about was triple jump.

Over time, his talent for this discipline started to show in leaps and bounds. The 17-year-old became the world youth champion in 2017 and 2018, and last year he jumped 17.30 metres, setting the junior world record for boys under 18 years.

Diaz Fortun has high-reaching goals for Buenos Aires 2018.

“First of all, I want to get the gold medal. And, if I get the chance, I would like to break the record at the Youth Olympic Games,” the Cuban said.

He achieved the second objective in his performance on Saturday with his 17.14-metre triple jump in the first stage of the competition.

The Cuban triple jumper has trained hard to prepare for the third summer edition of the Youth Olympic Games: “It was a very long season, I didn’t get any rest. In the middle of it I had the world championship. From then on, I have not stopped.”

Never short on ambition, Diaz Fortun already has his mind set on the senior Olympic Games.

“I want to win the senior world championship. You got to train hard and give your best,” he said.

He cheered for his teammates before it was his turn to compete.

“All of us are giving our best,” he said. “We want to rise to the top and win many gold medals for our country.”

Taken from https://www.buenosaires2018.com