Denia Caballero Ponce (born 13 January 1990) is a Cuban athlete who competes in the discus throw. She has a personal best of 70.65 metres for the event. She won the gold medal at the 2015 and the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships and was the bronze medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Caballero also was the Central American and Caribbean champion in 2011 and the 2011 Pan American Games bronze medallist.
Career Born in Caibarién, Villa Clara Province,Denia Caballero . London2012. Retrieved on 26 July 2012. she took part in track and field as a teenager and at the age of eighteen she cleared fifty metres in the javelin for the first time, setting a personal best mark of 52.10 m,Caballero Denia . IAAF. Retrieved on 26 July 2012. and became the Cuban junior champion.Outdoors Jul–Dec 2008 . World Junior Athletics News. Retrieved on 26 July 2012. Her family have all been involved in sports, her father as a boxer and her mother as a long jumper. Her uncle, Ricardo Ponce, is a triple jump coach for the Cuban national team. In 2009, she had a succession of personal bests including 56.91 m for fourth at the 2009 ALBA Games and 57.21 m at a meeting in Havana.III Juegos de ALBA 2009 . Atletismo Peruano. Retrieved on 26 July 2012.
Caballero came third at both the Barrientos Memorial and Olimpiada del Deporte Cubano in Havana in 2010 (improving her best mark to 59.30 then 59.92 m).Denia Caballero Ponce . Olimpiada Cubana. Retrieved on 26 July 2012. Havana was again the venue for her first throw over sixty metres in 2011, as she had a mark of 60.50 m then won the Barrientos meet a week later with a best of 62.94 m.Clavelo Robinson, Javier (29 May 2011). New talents emerge at Barrientos Memorial in Havana . IAAF. Retrieved on 26 July 2012. This earned her a spot at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and she reached the final round, finishing ninth with a mark of 60.73 m. She had much success regionally that year, winning the gold medal at the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics,Atletismo: Denia Caballero, primer oro de Cuba en Centroamericanos . TV Yumuri. Retrieved on 26 July 2012. as well as a bronze medal at the 2011 Pan American Games (an event won by fellow Cuban Yarelys Barrios).. JIT (21 October 2011). Retrieved on 26 July 2012.
A throw of 65.60 m in March 2012 lifted her to fourth in the world rankings and she was later chosen to perform in the discus alongside Barrios in 2012 Cuban Olympic squad.Montesinos, Enrique (4 April 2012). Yarelis Barrios – A great among the greats . Granma International. Retrieved on 26 July 2012.Cuba announces team of 47 for London Games . IAAF (16 July 2012). Retrieved on 16 July 2012.
At the 2013 World Championships, she finished 8th. She won the gold medal at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games with a new games record. The record had been set in 1982 by fellow Cuban Maria Betancourt.
In 2015, as well as setting a new personal best, she won the Pan American Games, and produced a shock upset, beating pre-competition favourite Sandra Perkovic to win the World Championship. Caballero was the first Cuban discus thrower to win the World title.
She won the bronze medal at the women's discus throw event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Personal bests Event Result Venue Date Discus throw 70.65 m Bilbao 20 June 2015 Hammer throw 64.32 m La Habana 8 February 2008
Achievements Representing 2009ALBA GamesHavana, Cuba4thDiscus56.91 m2011Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsMayagüez, Puerto Rico1stDiscus62.06 mWorld ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea9thDiscus60.73 mPan American GamesGuadalajara, Mexico3rdDiscus58.63 m A2012Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom27th (q)Discus58.78 m2013World ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia8thDiscus62.80 m2014Pan American Sports FestivalMexico City, Mexico1stDiscus62.19 m ACentral American and Caribbean GamesXalapa, Mexico1stDiscus64.47 m A2015Pan American GamesToronto, Canada1stDiscus65.39 mWorld ChampionshipsBeijing, China1stDiscus69.28 m2016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil3rdDiscus65.34 m2017World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom5thDiscus64.37 m2018Central American and Caribbean GamesBarranquilla, Colombia2ndDiscus65.10 m2019Pan American GamesLima, Peru3rdDiscus60.46 mWorld ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar2ndDiscus68.44 m2021Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan23rd (q)Discus57.96 m2022NACAC ChampionshipsFreeport, Bahamas2ndDiscus61.86 m
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