Not going back to a place where you were happy? This motto does not apply to everything. Pedro Pablo Pichado will have had a few sports days as happy as he had four years ago, in the Olympic final of the triple jump in Tokyo, where even his worst jump would give him the gold medal. We advance to the present, again in the Japanese capital, this time in the World Athletics, and Pichardo, still one of the best in the world, was not the best in the world.
In the final of this Friday, the Portuguese replaced at the top of the world. But he had to be at his best, securing the title only in the sixth and last leap, with 17.91m, after an unexpected overtaking by Italian Andrea dellavalle (17.64m) in the last round that took the gold for a few minutes.
After the title of Isaac Nader in 1500m, this was the second gold medal for Portugal in the World Athletics Worlds that end next Sunday. For Pichardo, this title is nothing new – had already been world champion in Eugene 2022, but was not in Budapest to defend his title. Two titles by Portugal that equal the number of silver medals while competing for Cuba-runner-up in 2013 and 2015.
This will be an especially tasty title for Pichardo, after a year when he left Benfica, after a very public conflict, and changed his training base to Italy. The lists of the year only gave it to the fifth best of the year and the qualification was not especially brilliant, but Pichado entered the final determined to recover the domain of the discipline. He entered safely, with a 17.07m jump, which gave him third place at the end of the first round, behind Algerian Yasser Triki (17,25) and Cuban Lázaro Martínez (17,16m). Then he raised flight.
At the second jump, the 32 -year -old jumping reached 17.55m, far from his best (which is over 18 meters), but enough to land in a golden position. Martínez was the only one who managed to answer, being close to his former companion (17.49m), but Pichardo kept the composure and repeated the distance from the lead in the third jump (17.55m).
Others who could threaten him were far from being able to do so. Spaniard Jordan Diaz, Olympic champion, was not even in this final (giving up the qualification), while the 2023 world champion Hugues Fabrice Zango was not even over 17 meters. Andy Díaz, another former Cuban who competes for Italy, never managed to rip a leap that put him in a medal position-escaped the cut for the last three jumps, but was at 17.19m.
Pichardo didn’t even look at the Italian, European and world -legged and bronze world champion at Paris games – while he jumped, the Portuguese was lying on the closed eye lane. Competition seemed, in fact, little confident in attacking the gold medal, but baking, being the last one to jump, would always have the possibility of responding to better marks than his. He abdicated the fifth leap and waited for all the others to jump.
Coming out of nowhere, Italian Andrea Dallavalle ripped a jump like never had done at 17.64m, which forced the Portuguese to respond. That’s what he did, and with a crash. At the last leap, he made 17.91m, pulling the gold from the hands of the Italian. Dallavalle would eventually have the silver, and the bronze to Martínez, which ended the injured final.
This is only the second time Portugal has two titles in the same edition of Athletics World Cups, 30 years after the achievement reached in Gotemburg 1995 by Fernanda Ribeiro (10,000m) and Manuela Machado (Marathon).
Pichardo has continued to make history for Portugal since he deserted Cuba – made that decision because the country’s sports authorities did not let him train with his father, Jorge Peralta. In 2017, he fled a stage of the Cuban team in Germany and, in the company of his father, took a 30 -hour car trip to Sweden. This escape had Portugal as the next destination, accepting Benfica’s proposal, then naturalized as a Portuguese citizen.
Authorized to compete for Portugal in 2019, Pichardo, who was already one of the best triplers in the world, has accumulated titles and medals in major competitions, at the European and worldwide level. While managed a very public conflict with Nelson Évora, Pichardo quickly rose to the top of the discipline in Portugal – his record of Portugal, 18.04m is still lower than his record of Cuba 18.08m.
Their best in competition was undoubtedly the final of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. With the stadium closed to the public because of the pandemic, Pichado drew a brilliant display that left all the competition behind and, after the conquest, had a striking phrase to affirm his fidelity to the country that chose to be his: “In Cuba I am a traitor, but I am no longer a traitor Portuguese Olympic Champions. ”
The following year, at Eugene Worlds, he had an equally dominant exhibition for another world title, but his star began to shine less from here. Between personal problems, problems with the club and the affirmation of new values in the discipline, Pichado is no longer at the top of the world. In the Europeans of Rome of 2024, he made his best jump as Portuguese (18.04m), but was for the silver because Jordan Díaz, competing for Spain, made 18.18m. Shortly thereafter, in the Paris Games, the hierarchy was repeated, Olympic champion Diaz, Pichardo runner-up.
Returning to this Tokyo final, Pichado was the same as himself. Confident, even a little arrogant, as he abdicated the fifth rehearsal, certainly without waiting for Dallavalle to make the leap of his life. With all the calm and without nervous tip, Pichardo advanced to his last leap and flew.
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