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Venezuela’s newly crowned Women’s World Athlete of the Year Yulimar Rojas says it would be “a great honor” to compete in Africa for the first time, adding that she would consult with her coach and study the possibility of traveling to Nairobi next season.
The record-breaking world triple jump champion was crowned the 2020 World Women’s Athlete of the Year on Saturday with Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis winning the Men’s World Athlete of the Year in a virtual ceremony hosted by World Athletics, rather than the traditional one. final -year gala in Monaco.
Responding to a question from Nation Sport about whether it would consider competing in Africa, especially with Nairobi and Rabat hosting the World Athletics Continental Tour and Diamond League, respectively, the 25-year-old, 1.92-meter tall Venezuelan said she would be delighted to jump on African soil.
“I have never been to Africa and would be delighted to be in Africa,” she responded with emotion clearly etched into her voice in a post-awards virtual interview hosted by World Athletics.
“It would be a pleasure and an honor to be in Africa and I will consult with my coach Iván Pedroso to see the possibility of coming to Africa and visiting interesting places in Africa, as well as competing,” said the Olympic silver medalist in Rio. 2016 Games said.
The Sydney 2000 Cuban Olympic champion, Pedroso, who has nine world titles in the long jump and is considered one of the best jumpers of all time, currently trains Rojas alongside the Spanish triple jump champion in Europe. Ana Peleteiro and former Portuguese Olympic and World Champion Nelson Evora.
With the Kip Keino Classic stage of the Continental Athletics World Tour scheduled for September 18 next year, and with Rojas thrown the gauntlet, meeting director Barnabas Korir took up the challenge yesterday and welcomed the possibility that the champion jumper competes in Nairobi next year. .
He said he would consult with Brussels-based Golazo, who handles the invitations from elite athletes to the Nairobi meeting, about the possibility.
Duplantis, 21, also said he would be happy to compete in Africa for the first time “if an opportunity presents itself.”
“I will definitely not object (competing in Africa),” said Duplantis, who broke the world pole vault record twice this year, surpassing 6.17 and 6.18 meters on consecutive weekends in February.
“If a competition arises and the opportunity is there, it would definitely be okay to come to Africa,” he replied to Nation Sport from his base in the United States.
Rojas, a two-time triple jump world champion (London 2017 and Doha 2019) and also a two-time World Indoor Championships gold medalist (Portland 2016 and Birmingham 2018) said she hopes to “discover Africa” if invited to compete In the continent. .
“I would be very excited to discover the continent and all the beautiful places in Africa,” she said.
Known for her fashion sense, Rojas, who loves to dye her hair gold while competing, saw a pink tint on Saturday night while virtually receiving her award, which she described as “Santa Claus is early.”
She explained to Nation Sport that her hair color basically describes her mood.
“I love colors and I love to dye my hair in different colors … This reflects the happiness that I have inside. Whenever I am happy, I will dye my hair to reflect my happiness.
“Today my hair is pink because I felt that my soul was pink. The colors change every time and this makes me happy!”
Rojas beat, among others, the world record holder for the half marathon and Kenyan champion, Peres Chepchirchir, the coveted Athlete of the Year award thanks to his stellar form that was only slowed by the breakdown of the competition imposed by the coronavirus.
He broke the South American record for indoor triple jump with a jump of 15.03 meters in Metz, France, which he improved to 15.43 in Madrid.
“Honestly, I did not expect this, I really cannot believe it. It is a joy and I am full of happiness. Just being one of the finalists felt like a victory; being nominated among other exceptional athletes was already a wonderful achievement,” he said in his acceptance speech at Saturday night’s virtual awards ceremony hosted by sprint legends Ato Bolton (Trinidad and Tobago) and Sanya Richards-Ross (USA) from separate venues.
Rojas said he would still focus on Olympic gold in Tokyo next year and does not rule out the possibility of breaking the world record by hitting the elusive 16-meter mark.
“I have the ability to do 16 meters and my ambition is to become the first woman to reach the 16 meter mark,” she said.
“I am still young and have the ambition … I will do whatever it takes to achieve it.”
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The women’s triple jump world record is 15.50 meters held by the Ukrainian Inessa Kravets, achieved in August 1995 at the Ullevi Stadium in Sweden during the Gothenburg World Championships.
With the 2021 Kip Keino Classic to be held on September 18 as the final leg of the Continental Tour, and with the top-tier Diamond League concluding on September 9 in Zurich, Korir says it is a great opportunity for Rojas and Duplantis to conclude. their seasons. in Nairobi.
“The advantage of the Kip Keino Classic that closes the international athletics calendar is that Duplantis and Rojas can come to Nairobi for their final competition and later try our attractions in the national parks, game reserves, our coast and other great places during the holidays. after a long season …
“We will work hard to make sure that we have them and other elite athletes on our roster by September 18, 2021,” Korir said.
The possible appearance of Duplantis and Rojas in Nairobi would certainly raise the profile of the Kip Keino Classic, which made a successful entry into the world series of elite one-day matches on October 3 this year with 30 nations represented at the National Stadium. Nyayo.
