Pedro Pablo Pichardo


Pedro Pablo Pichardo Peralta is a Cuban-born triple jumper competing for Portugal since December 2017.
He was the 2012 World Junior Champion and the 2013 World Championship silver medalist. His in early 2014 was the best triple jump of the year. In 2015, his made him the #6 performer ever. A week later he improved to making him the #3 performer ever and the best performance the world has seen since 1996. At club level, he represents S.L. Benfica in Portugal.

Career

Pichardo jumped on May 15, 2015 at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar. The performance makes him the number 3 performer ever. With Christian Taylor also jumping minutes later in Doha, this was the first competition in history to have two men jump over 18 metres, already called "the greatest triple jump competition ever." His 18.06 m also improved his own Cuban national record of set just one week earlier in Havana. That mark erased Yoelbi Quesada's nearly 18-year-old record. It had already put Pichardo on the all-time top ten performers in position #6.
Pichardo won Athletissima 2013 with a mark of 17.58 m.
On 28 May 2015, Pichardo jumped at the Copa Cuba-Memorial Barrientos meet in Havana, improving his own Cuban national record set two weeks earlier by 2 cm.
In April 2017, Pichardo disappeared from the Cuban national team's meeting in Stuttgart, Germany, appearing days later in Portugal. Shortly after, on 27 April, he signed a contract with Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. He gained Portuguese citizenship on 7 December that year and is eligible to compete for Portugal on the international stage starting from 1 August 2019. Therefore, the first major competition in which Pichardo will represent the Portuguese colours will be during the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Pichardo established Portugal's triple jump record at 17.95 metres during 2018 IAAF Diamond League, in Doha, Qatar, on 4 May 2018. Later, he won a gold medal at the 2019 IAAF Diamond League, in London, with a personal season best of 17.53 metres.

Achievements

Personal bests