Iván Lázaro Pedroso Soler (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈβam peˈðɾoso]; born December 17, 1972) is a retired Cuban track and field athlete, who specialized in the long jump,[1] and the current coach of Nelson Évora,[2] Yulimar Rojas,[3] Ana Peleteiro[4] and Jordan Díaz.

Iván Pedroso

Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  Cuba
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Long jump
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1995 Gothenburg Long jump
Gold medal – first place 1997 Athens Long jump
Gold medal – first place 1999 Sevilla Long jump
Gold medal – first place 2001 Edmonton Long jump
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 1993 Toronto Long jump
Gold medal – first place 1995 Barcelona Long jump
Gold medal – first place 1997 Paris Long jump
Gold medal – first place 1999 Maebashi Long jump
Gold medal – first place 2001 Lisbon Long jump

Career

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Pedroso was born in Havana, Cuba. In July 1990, aged just 17, Pedroso jumped more than eight meters for the first time. Facing tough competition from Carl Lewis, Mike Powell and others, he still won numerous gold medals in international competitions in the early nineties. He almost never finished in less than first place. When Powell and Lewis retired, Pedroso became a dominant athlete, winning numerous indoor and outdoor World Championships. In fact he won all major championships from 1997 to 2001, including an Olympic gold medal in Sydney.

At altitude in Sestriere in 1995, Iván Pedroso jumped 8.96 meters with a measured wind of +1.2. This would have been the world record, beating Mike Powell by one centimeter. However, the Italian Athletics Federation did not forward the result to the IAAF for ratification, since the wind mark was declared invalid, because a person stood in front of the anemometer, probably intercepting the correct wind measurement.[5]

Despite his great success in the World Championships, due to injuries, he did not make a great impact on the Olympic Games like former rival Carl Lewis. He did finish fourth at the age of 19 in Barcelona 1992, but in Atlanta 1996 he had injury troubles and could only finish 12th in the long jump final. In the 2000 Olympics (Sydney), Pedroso spectacularly won the gold medal with his last jump. In a tough contest at the 2004 Olympics, he finished 7th. Pedroso has not entered in any major championships since, although he still had several jumps over 8 metres.

On 26 September 2007, Pedroso announced his retirement.

His best jump was officially 8.71 meters, in Salamanca 1995.[6]

He is the coach of 2013 Triple Jump World Champion, Teddy Tamgho, 2020 Olympic Champion Yulimar Rojas and 2024 Olympic Champion Jordan Díaz. Pedroso is a cousin of the hurdler Aliuska López.

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing   Cuba
1990 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-20) Havana, Cuba 2nd 7.74 m (+0.3 m/s)
World Junior Championships Plovdiv, Bulgaria 4th 7.81 m (-0.2 m/s)
1991 Pan American Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st 8.08 m
Pan American Games Havana, Cuba 3rd 7.96 m
1992 Ibero-American Championships Seville, Spain 1st 8.53 m CR (+1.6 m/s)
Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 4th 8.11 m (-0.8 m/s)
World Cup Havana, Cuba 1st 7.97 m[7]
1993 World Indoor Championships Toronto, Canada 1st 8.23 m
World Championships Stuttgart, Germany NM
1995 World Indoor Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st 8.51 m CR
World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st 8.70 m (+1.6 m/s)
Pan American Games Mar del Plata, Argentina 1st 8.50 m
IAAF Grand Prix Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 1st 8.49 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 12th 7.75 m
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 1st 8.51 m CR
Central American and Caribbean Championships San Juan, Puerto Rico 1st 8.54 m w
World Championships Athens, Greece 1st 8.42 m (+0.1 m/s)
Universiade Catania, Italy 1st 8.40 m GR
IAAF Grand Prix Final Fukuoka, Japan 1st 8.53 m
1998 Goodwill Games Uniondale, United States 1st 8.54 m
Central American and Caribbean Games Maracaibo, Venezuela 1st 8.45 m CR
World Cup Johannesburg, South Africa 1st 8.37 m[7]
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 1st 8.62 m CR
World Championships Seville, Spain 1st 8.56 m (+1.1 m/s)
Pan American Games Winnipeg, Canada 1st 8.52 m
IAAF Grand Prix Final Munich, Germany 1st 8.43 m
2000 Summer Olympics Sydney, Australia 1st 8.55 m (+0.4 m/s)
2001 World Indoor Championships Lisbon, Portugal 1st 8.43 m
World Championships Edmonton, Canada 1st 8.55 m (+1.2 m/s)
Goodwill Games Brisbane, Australia 1st 8.16 m
2002 World Cup Madrid, Spain 2nd 8.19 m (+0.6 m/s)[7]
2003 Pan American Games Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1st 8.23 m
World Championships Paris, France NM (q)
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 8th 8.09 m
Ibero-American Championships Huelva, Spain 3rd 7.78 m
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 7th 8.23 m (+0.7 m/s)
2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Cartagena, Colombia 2nd 7.92 m
2007 Pan American Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 4th 7.86 m

References

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  1. ^ Nápoles Cardoso, Eddy Luis (Feb 23, 2010), Latinoamerica También Tiene Medallas A La Sombra (in Spanish), Atletismo Peruano, retrieved Mar 25, 2012
  2. ^ "Atletismo: Nélson Évora treinado por Ivan Pedroso". www.maisfutebol.iol.pt (in Portuguese).
  3. ^ "Olympic silver medalist Yulimar Rojas signs with FC Barcelona athletics team". www.fcbarcelona.com.
  4. ^ "Ivan Pedroso: "Ana Peleteiro dará el salto que todo el mundo espera"". www.marca.com (in Spanish). 29 January 2018.
  5. ^ TRACK AND FIELD; Pedroso's World Mark In Long Jump in Doubt, New York Times, August 4, 1995
  6. ^ IAAF Athlete Biography - IAAF website, August 20, 2008
  7. ^ a b c Representing the Americas.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Men's long jump season's best
1995
1997
1999–2001
Succeeded by
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for   Cuba
Athens 2004
Succeeded by