Jaime Jefferson

Jaime Jefferson Guilarte (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxajme ˈʝefeɾson ɡi'laɾte]; born 17 January 1962) is a retired Cuban long jumper. A predecessor of the greatest Cuban long jumper, Ivan Pedroso, he was also capable of big jumps, taking more international medals in a career that spanned for over a decade.

Jaime Jefferson
Personal information
Born (1962-01-17) January 17, 1962
Guantanamo, Cuba

Career

His first notable success were 1983 Pan-American Games in Caracas where he won the gold. Jefferson improved his long jump personal best to 8.37m in 1984, but was deprived of competing at the L.A. Olympics through Cuban boycott. Over the next decade and a half, he amassed several medals from Central American Games and Championships, winning the golds at Champs in 1985 and CAC Games in 1986. Jaime also won two golds at World University Games - first in Kobe in 1985, second in Duisburg in 1989. At the Pan-American Games in Indianapolis in 1987, he improved his PB to 8.51m to collect bronze medal behind Carl Lewis and Larry Myricks (both USA), but couldn't reproduce that at the World Championships in Rome finishing 6th with 8.14m. 1988 was again frustrating because of another Olympic Cuban boycott, but Jaime continued to compete with even more success in 90's. He recorded his career best long jump of 8.53m in 1990 and had great season in 1991, winning silver at the World Indoor Championships in Seville and reclaiming Pan-American title he lost in 1987, winning in his home country in Havana with 8.26m. Only disappointment of the season was subpar 9th-place finish in the greatest long jump competition ever, World Championships in Tokyo. Next season finally brought Jefferson's first Olympic appearance and he finished creditable 5th in Barcelona, again behind great Carl Lewis. Jaime added World Indoor bronze in 1993 at Toronto, but his career was obviously on the wane in his thirties as he was unable to qualify for the final in major outings 1993 and 1995 World Championships and 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Jaime Jefferson won his final international medal at 1997 CAC Championships in San Juan where he finished behind his famous compatriot Ivan Pedroso, by then World's finest long jumper, and retired at the end of the season.

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Cuba
1983 Central American and Caribbean Championships Havana, Cuba 3rd Long jump 8.03 m
Pan American Games Caracas, Venezuela 1st Long jump 8.03 m
Ibero-American Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st Long jump 7.93 m
1985 Central American and Caribbean Championships Nassau, Bahamas 1st Long jump 8.13 m
Universiade Kobe, Japan 1st Long jump 8.07 m
1986 Central American and Caribbean Games Santiago, Dominican Republic 1st Long jump 8.34 m
1987 World Indoor Championships Indianapolis, United States 10th Long jump 7.78 m
Pan American Games Indianapolis, United States 3rd Long jump 8.51 m
World Championships Rome, Italy 6th Long jump 8.14 m
1988 Ibero-American Championships Mexico City, Mexico 1st Long jump 8.37 m
1989 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 5th Long jump 7.96 m
Central American and Caribbean Championships San Juan, Puerto Rico 1st Long jump 7.96 m
Universiade Duisburg, West Germany 1st Long jump 7.98 m
World Cup Barcelona, Spain 8th Long jump 6.52 m1
1990 Goodwill Games Seattle, United States 6th Long jump 7.98 m
Central American and Caribbean Games Mexico City, Mexico 2nd Long jump 8.06 m
1991 World Indoor Championships Seville, Spain 2nd Long jump 8.04 m
Pan American Games Havana, Cuba 1st Long jump 8.26 m
World Championships Tokyo, Japan 9th Long jump 7.94 m
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 5th Long jump 8.08 m
1993 World Indoor Championships Toronto, Canada 3rd Long jump 7.98 m
World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 15th (q) Long jump 7.86 m
Central American and Caribbean Games Ponce, Puerto Rico 3rd Long jump 7.85 m
1994 Ibero-American Championships Mar del Plata, Argentina 1st Long jump 7.82 m (w)
1995 Pan American Games Mar del Plata, Argentina 2nd Long jump 8.23 m
World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 21st (q) Long jump 7.84 m
1996 Ibero-American Championships Medellín, Colombia 2nd Long jump 8.28 m (w)
Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 31st (q) Long jump 7.65 m
1997 Central American and Caribbean Championships San Juan, Puerto Rico 2nd Long jump 8.01 m (w)

1Representing the Americas

References

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