The world record holder is a four-time world champion outdoors, a three-time world champ indoors, and an Olympic gold medallist. The three-time Diamond League champion has one more goal to accomplish: jump over 16 metres.
Rojas' journey began in Caracas, Venezuela, where she was born into a low-income family of six siblings. Initially drawn to volleyball after being inspired by her national team's performance at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, she ultimately transitioned to track and field athletics.
At only 15, the Venezuelan athlete won high jump gold at the 2011 South American Junior Championships and silver at the Pan American Youth Athletics Championships and the Bolivarian Games. By the age of 19, she had already won the high jump event at the 2014 South American Games and the triple jump and long jump titles at the 2015 South American Athletics Championships.
Yulimar Rojas: Journey to Spain for athletics success
But Venezuela was no longer enough to contain her expanding talent.
Rojas contacted Iván Pedroso, a former athlete turned coach, on Facebook in 2015, and he invited her to train with him in Spain. This decision proved beneficial as she won the gold medal at the 2016 Indoor World Championships and silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The next year, Rojas made history by winning her first outdoor world championship title in London. She won a second World Indoor Championship in Birmingham in 2018. Her success continued with victories at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games and the Doha World Championships in the same year. In 2020, she broke the world record for the indoor triple jump, reaching 15.43m.
Yulimar Rojas: Tokyo 2020 gold and world record
Her career peaked at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 when the Venezuelan won the women's triple jump event with a then-world record leap of 15.67m.
"I am at a loss for words; I can't describe this feeling. Gold medal winner with an Olympic record and a world record. Wow. It is a fantastic night," said Rojas, who became the first Venezuelan woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
Rojas didn't stop there. In 2022, she extended her world record by 31 centimetres at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade to 15.74m to claim the title for a record third time.
The outdoor season brought more success, with gold at the Eugene 2022 worlds. She continued her winning streak by securing another gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games, sealing her spot for Paris 2024.
Yulimar Rojas: Breaking barriers
In 2023, she made more history by becoming the first athlete to win the triple jump world title four times, by clinching gold in Budapest.
Looking ahead, Rojas has set new goals for herself, aiming to reach 16 metres in her event. And the Paris Olympics could be the perfect stage to make history.
"I have two motivations in life: to achieve 16 metres and to do better than the legend that is my coach, Ivan Pedroso," said Rojas. "If you work with your heart, belief, and love of the sport, nothing is impossible."
