Yunior Díaz Zayas (born 28 April 1987]) is a Cuban track and field athlete who specialises in the decathlon and long jump. He represented Cuba at the 2008 Summer Olympics and also at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. He won the silver medal at the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics.
Career His first success as a junior athlete came at the 2005 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships where he won the silver medal.Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2006-03-02). Menéndez throws 65.02m in Santiago de Cuba. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-05-21.Pan American Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-05-21. Díaz emerged as one of a talented trio of Cuban male decathletes along with Leonel Suárez and Yordanis García. Cuban combined events coach Gabino Arzola stated in 2005 that it was his intent to see three Cubans compete in the decathlon at the 2012 Olympic Games.Yordanis Garcia - Beijing in his sights after World Youth Best. IAAF (2005-07-15). Retrieved on 2010-05-21.
He set a decathlon personal best of 8057 in his home town of Havana in March 2008, breaking the 8000-point barrier for the first time.Decatlón criollo alcanza mayoría de edad . Cuba Vision International. Retrieved on 2010-05-21. Díaz's first appearance on the global stage came soon after at 2008 Summer Olympics, but he did not compete in his specialist event but rather as part of Cuba's 4×400 metres relay team with Yunier Pérez, William Collazo and Omar Cisneros. The team failed to progress beyond the heats stage of the competition.Yunior Díaz. Sports-reference. Retrieved on 2010-05-21. He won his first senior medal the following year in Havana at the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, finishing as runner-up behind compatriot Leonel Suárez but managing to score over 8000 points for the second time in his career with a final total of 8013.Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2009-07-05). Suarez tallies World leading 8654 points in Decathlon - CAC Champs Day 2. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-05-21.
Díaz was selected to represent Cuba in the decathlon at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics along with Suárez and García. He was in second place after five events (having scored 4512 points) and although he had slipped to ninth place by the end of the competition, he managed to significantly improve his personal best to 8357 points.Julin, A. Lennart & Jalava, Mirko (2009-12-21). 2009 - End of Year Reviews – COMBINED EVENTS. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-05-21. This score gave him eleventh place on the season's decathlon rankings.Decathlon 2009. IAAF (2010-02-24). Retrieved on 2010-05-21.
Personal bests Event Result Venue DateOutdoor 100 m 10.66 s (wind: +0.2 m/s) Berlin, Germany 19 Aug 2009 Long jump 8.02 m (wind: +0.3 m/s) Havana, Cuba 22 Feb 2007 Shot put 15.56 m Havana, Cuba 2 Mar 2012 High jump 2.05 m Havana, Cuba 7 Mar 2008 400 m 46.15 s Berlin, Germany 19 Aug 2009 110 m hurdles 14.49 s (wind: -0.8 m/s) Havana, Cuba 4 Jul 2009 Discus throw 45.50 m Ratingen, Germany 15 Jun 2012 Pole vault 4.60 m Berlin, Germany 20 Aug 2009 Javelin throw 62.14 m Havana, Cuba 6 May 2011 1500 m 4:30.16 min Ponce, Puerto Rico 27 May 2007 Decathlon 8357 pts Berlin, Germany 19/20 Aug 2009Indoor 60 m 6.91 s Sumy, Ukraine 17 Feb 2010 Long jump 7.62 m Tallinn, Estonia 12 Feb 2010 Shot put 15.11 m Sumy, Ukraine 17 Feb 2010 High jump 1.99 m Sumy, Ukraine 17 Feb 2010 60 m hurdles 8.19 s Sumy, Ukraine 17 Feb 2010 Pole vault 4.25 m Tallinn, Estonia 8 Feb 2009 1000 m 2:41.25 min Tallinn, Estonia 13 Feb 2010 Heptathlon 5831 pts Sumy, Ukraine 17/18 Feb 2010
Competition record 2005Pan American Junior ChampionshipsWindsor, Canada2ndDecathlon7290 pts2007NACAC Combined Events ChampionshipsSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic 3rdDecathlon7816 pts2008Summer OlympicsBeijing, China7th (heats)4 × 400 m relay3:02.242009Americas Combined Events CupHavana, Cuba 2ndDecathlon7920 ptsCAC ChampionshipsHavana, Cuba2ndDecathlon8013 ptsWorld ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany9thDecathlon8357 pts2011ALBA GamesBarquisimeto, Venezuela1stDecathlon7800 ptsPan American GamesGuadalajara, Mexico19th (q)Long jump7.21 m A (wind: -0.2 m/s)1st (h)4 × 400 m relay3:04.33 min A2014Pan American Sports FestivalMexico City, Mexico3rdLong jump7.83 m A (wind: 1.3 m/s)Central American and Caribbean GamesXalapa, Mexico3rdLong jump7.66 m A (wind: -0.9 m/s)2015Pan American GamesToronto, Canada6thLong jump7.90 m (w)
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