Irving Saladino

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Irving Saladino
Osaka07 D5M Irving Saladino.jpg
Irving Saladino, Gold Medalist at Athletics World Championship 2007
Personal information
Full nameIrving Jahir Saladino Aranda [1]
Born (1983-01-23) January 23, 1983 (age 41) [1]
Colón, Colón Province, Panamá [1]
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Weight70 kg (154 lb) [1]
Sport
CountryFlag of Panama.svg  Panama
SportMen's Athletics
Event Long jump
Achievements and titles
Personal bestLong jump: 8.73 m

Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda (born January 23, 1983) is a Panamanian former long jumper. He was Olympic champion, having won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and remains Panama's first and only Olympic gold medalist. He was world champion in the long jump in 2007. He represented his country at three consecutive Olympics, from 2004 to 2012, and competed at four World Championships in Athletics from 2005 to 2011.

Contents

Amongst his honours are a silver medal from the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships and gold medals at the Pan American Games, Central American and Caribbean Games, Central American Games, South American Games, the IAAF World Cup and the Ibero-American Championships in Athletics. He holds a long jump best of 8.73 m (28 ft 7+12 in), set in 2008. He ranks in the all-time top ten for the event. [2] He had the longest jumps in the world in the 2006 and 2008 seasons.

Biography

Saladino was born in Colón, Colón Province, Panama. At the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships he finished second with a new South American indoor record of 8.29 metres. In 2006 he won five (Oslo, Rome, Zurich, Brussels, Berlin) out of six Golden League events in the same season, which earned him a total of $83,333. His only defeat was in Paris where he was second. With 8.56 metres achieved in May 2006, he became the South American record holder.

The 2006 world leader in the long jump, Saladino launched his 2007 season with the farthest leap of the year, 8.53 m (−0.2 m/s wind), to win at the "Grande Prêmio Rio Caixa de Atletismo", held in Rio de Janeiro on May 13, 2007. On 24 May 2008, Saladino achieved a new personal record. During the FBK Games in Hengelo, he jumped 8.73 m (+1.2 m/s wind) on his first attempt.

He carried the flag for his native country at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On 30 August 2007 Saladino became the World Champion in Osaka. He led with the mark of 8.30 metres from his second attempt, then improved to 8.46 m, until the penultimate jump of the contest, when he was overtaken by Andrew Howe who set as mark 8.47 m. Saladino was able to earn the gold medal on the last attempt of the contest, in which he jumped 8.57 m.

Saladino competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, where he made history in Central America and his country, Panama, by winning the gold medal in the long jump competition on 18 August 2008, with a jump of 8.34 meters, giving Panama their first Olympic medal since the 1948 Summer Olympics, and their first gold ever. [3] This is also the first Olympic gold medal ever won in a men's event by an athlete from Central America.

On 21 August 2008 after winning Olympic gold, he arrived in Panama a national hero. Government offices and public schools were closed in honor of him. At a welcoming ceremony, Panamanian boxing legend Roberto Durán presented the Olympic gold medal to Irving Saladino for a second time. Martin Torrijos, President of Panama, announced a decree to name a sports facility in the Villa Deportiva in Juan Díaz after Saladino and granted a check to him for 50,000 U.S. dollars. Also, Ruben Blades performed the song "Patria" (Motherland) in front of thousands of cheering Panamanians.

Saladino qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics and he was chosen to be Panama's flag bearer. [4] He was eliminated early after underperforming due to injury.

Saladino's performances declined after 2011, and although he managed to clear 8.16 m (26 ft 9+14 in) in the 2014 season, he announced his retirement that August. [5]

Personal bests

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
2002 Central American Junior Championships (U20) Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala 1stLong jump7.51 m
1stTriple jump14.48 m
Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-20) Bridgetown, Barbados 3rdLong jump7.39 m (-0.2 m/s)
6thTriple jump14.38 m (wind: +0.5 m/s)
World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 10th (q)Long jump 7.30 m (wind: -0.5 m/s)
Central American Championships San José, Costa Rica 1stLong jump7.18 m
2ndTriple jump14.51 m
3rd4 × 100 m relay42.86
2003 South American Championships Barquisimeto, Venezuela 3rdLong jump 7.46 m (wind: +0.1 m/s)
2004 South American Under-23 Championships Barquisimeto, Venezuela 1stLong jump 7.74 m (-0.2 m/s)
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 36th (q)Long jump 7.42 m (0.8 m/s)
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 6thLong jump 8.20 m w(wind: +2.8 m/s)
2006 World Indoor Championships Moscow, Russia 2ndLong jump 8.29 m AR
Ibero-American Championships Ponce, Puerto Rico 1stLong jump 8.42 m (wind: -0.4 m/s)
Central American and Caribbean Games Cartagena, Colombia 1stLong jump 8.29 m (wind: +0.0 m/s)
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany1stLong jump8.41 m (wind: +0.4 m/s)
World Cup Athens, Greece1stLong jump8.26 m (wind: +0.3 m/s)
2007 Pan American Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1stLong jump 8.28 m (wind: -0.5 m/s)
World Championships Osaka, Japan1stLong jump 8.57 m AR (0.0 m/s)
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China1stLong jump 8.34 m (-0.3 m/s)
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany4thLong jump 8.16
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar12th (q)Long jump 7.80 m
Central American Games Panama City, Panama1stLong jump 8.19 m GR (0.0 m/s)
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea22nd (q)Long jump 7.84 m (wind: +0.2 m/s)
2012 Olympic Games London, United KingdomLong jump NM
2013 Central American Games San José, Costa Rica 1stLong jump 7.99 m (wind: -0.4 m/s)
South American Championships Cartagena, Colombia 3rdLong jump 7.94 m (wind: +1.5 m/s)
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland11th (q)Long jump 7.94 m
South American Games Santiago, Chile1stLong jump 8.16 m (wind: -0.5 m/s)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Irving Saladino". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. Top Lists All Time Men's Long Jump. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-19.
  3. Saladino leaps into history with Panama's first Athletics gold Archived 2008-08-22 at the Wayback Machine , Official Olympics site
  4. "Campeón olímpico Saladino será abanderado de Panamá para Londres-2012". AFP (in Spanish). Terra. 2012-07-10. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  5. Minshull, Phil (2014-08-07). Adios Irving! Saladino announces his retirement. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-19.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance
2006
2008
Succeeded by
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
London 2012
Succeeded by