Pedro Pablo Pichardo

Biography of Pedro Pichardo | Pedro Pichardo Triple Jump

Few triple jumpers are as accomplished as Pedro Pichardo (full name Pedro Pablo Pichardo Peralta). He is one of eight men to have ever gone over 18.00 meters and has won both the Olympic Games and World Championships.

Pichardo achieved success early in his career when he competed for Cuba. In 2012, he won the World Junior Championships held in Barcelona with an impressive 16.79 meters into a slightly negative wind. Less than a year later, he became the silver medalist at the World Championships. His jump of 17.68 meters placed him behind only Teddy Tamgho, whose 18.04-meter jump was the first jump in 15 years over the 18-meter barrier.

Pichardo opened his 2014 season with a new personal best of 17.76 meters in Havana. He finished second at the World Indoor Championships behind compatriot Ernesto Revé.

Breaking 18 meters

Heading into the 2015 season, Pichardo had already established himself as one of the best triple jumpers in the world, having the farthest jump of the season by any jumper in 2014. However, in 2015, he would seal his place in triple jump lore.

He opened the year with a new personal best of 17.94 meters. Any idea that the result might have been due to home-field advantage was quickly quelled at the Doha Diamond League a week later when he jumped 18.06 meters, the farthest jump since Kenny Harrison jumped 18.09 meters in 1996.

He had another great performance of 18.08 meters back in Cuba two weeks later. Six days after that, he would go 17.96 meters to win the Rome Diamond League meeting by almost 80 centimeters.

Pichardo continued to dominate internationally throughout 2015, putting up arguably the most consistent streak in history with 12 meets over 17 meters and five over 17.90 meters. The four-time World Champion and twice Olympic Champion Christian Taylor was his only obstacle on his way to a perfect season.

Pichardo’s distance of 17.73 meters at the World Championships would win most years, but Taylor sealed victory with the second-longest jump in history at 18.21 meters.

Arriving in Portugal

Pichardo had to sit out the next season with a fractured ankle and missed the 2016 Olympics. He returned to form in 2017, but before competing in his season opener in Stuttgart, Germany, the 23-year-old went missing. It wasn’t clear where he would appear, but it was largely speculated that he would head to Spain like many of his compatriots in recent years.

A few days later, he appeared in Portugal and signed a contract with the club S.L. Benfica. Pichardo gained Portuguese citizenship by the end of the year.

Pichardo had to sit out of international competition until August 1, 2019, but he continued to compete in circuit meetings in the meantime. He jumped 17.60 meters in July to win the Lausanne Diamond League Meeting. The next year, he jumped 17.95 meters at the Doha Diamond League Meeting. He won the Diamond League Final in 2018 with a jump of 17.49 meters.

The Return of Pedro Pichardo

In Pichardo’s first World Championship competing for Portugal, he finished fourth with a jump of 17.62 meters in an extremely competitive field. Christian Taylor won with a jump of 17.92 meters.

With the 2020 Olympics postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pichardo competed mostly in Portugal through the shortened season, jumping a season’s best of 17.40 meters in July.

Upon his return to international competition, he started the 2021 season by winning the indoor championships with a jump of 17.30 meters and achieved a performance of 17.92 meters at the Gyulai István Memorial in Hungary in July.

Pichardo won the Olympic Games in Tokyo relatively uncontested. He led the qualifying field by almost 60 centimeters with a jump of 17.71 meters and jumped 17.98 meters in the final to take victory over Zhu Yaming and Hugues Fabrice Zango.

The 2022 season ended in much the same way. Pichardo won the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, relatively uncontested with a best of 17.95 meters. Zango and Zhu reached the podium again but switched their placing.

Unfortunately, Pichardo dealt with lower back pain throughout the next season and had to withdraw from the 2023 World Championships without a chance to defend his title.

Pichardo maintained top form throughout the 2024 season, but Jordan Diaz, his compatriot from Cuba, who recently became eligible to compete for Spain, presented a challenge. At the 2024 European Championships in Rome, Pichardo made it through the preliminary round, easily surpassing the auto-qualifying standard with a jump of 17.48 meters.

In the final, Pichardo jumped 18.04 meters in round two, seemingly enough to clinch victory. However, Diaz had other plans, responding with a fault in round three that looked to be close to the 18-meter mark, as seen in this video taken by a member of our editorial team

Diaz then jumped 17.96 meters in round four before leaping to 18.18 meters in the next round for the third-longest jump in history. Pichardo responded with 17.92 meters in the final round, but had to settle for second.

The two men would battle it out again at the Olympics. Ultimately, Diaz’s 17.86-meter opening jump edged out Pichardo’s second-round best of 17.84 meters. Andy Diaz, who recently became eligible to compete for Italy, took third.

At the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Pichardo’s biggest competition came from the Italian Andrea Dallavalle. Pichardo led heading into round six with jumps of 17.55 meters in rounds two and three. Dallavalle set a massive personal best in round six with 17.64 meters to take the lead, but Pichardo bounced back with a season best of 17.91 meters to capture gold.

Pedro Pichardo Personal Life and Other Facts

Before defecting from Cuba, Pichardo previously clashed with his Federation in 2014 when he wanted to leave his coach, Ricardo Ponce, to be trained by his father. He received a six-month suspension.

After his battle against Jordan Diaz in Rome at the 2024 European Championships, Pichardo posted doubts about Diaz’ winning jump on social media since moments before the electronic measuring tape on the side of the pit went black. Pichardo wrote in a since-deleted post, “Why did the electronic board go off at that moment? How do we know it was really 18.18 meters?” [Translated]

At the 2024 Olympics, all three men on the podium originally competed for Cuba before defecting to Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

FAQS | Pedro Pichardo Triple Jump

How Many Olympic Medals Has Pedro Pichardo Won?

Pablo Pichardo has won Olympic gold in 2021 in Tokyo and Silver in 2024 in Paris.

How Tall is Pedro Pichardo?

Pedro Pichardo is about 186 centimeters (6’1”) tall.

How Much Does Pedro Pichardo Weigh

Pichardo weighs roughly 71 kilograms (157 pounds).