The wait for Olympic triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas’ return will continue.
The seven-time (three indoors and four outdoors) world champion had been expected to take part in Thursday’s (14 August) Meeting Internacional C.D. Meliz Sport in Guadalajara, Spain, but Rojas withdrew from the event, meaning her comeback will now come at next month’s World Championships in Tokyo.
“I’m going all out to defend my world title where I won Olympic gold and a world championship, which is an extra motivation for me,” she said, according to EFE.
Coach Iván Pedroso said the Venezuelan withdrew from Thursday’s meeting in Guadalajara due to muscle overload.
Rojas, a heavy favourite to defend the Olympic gold she won at Tokyo 2020, couldn’t compete at last summer’s Paris Games after tearing her Achilles tendon in the lead-up. She last competed in March 2024.
Now, the 29-year-old says she’s putting “all her preparation” into Tokyo to be “in the best possible condition.”