Cuban high jumper breaks world record in Sao Paulo

The 27-year-old Cuban first entered the IPC Athletics spotlight when he won gold in the long jump T12 at the London 2012 Paralympics and then followed that up with another title-winning performance at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships.

Cuba’s Paralympic and world champion Luis Felipe Gutierrez Rivero set a new world record in the men’s high jump T12 on Thursday (24 April) to start off the II Caixa Loterias Athletics Open Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil – the third stop on this year’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix Series.

Gutierrez Rivero, named Cuba’s Best Disabled Male Athlete of the Year in 2012, recorded a jump of 2.06m to break the previous world-record mark of 2.02m set by Belarus’ Ruslan Sivitski 14 years ago at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games.

The 27-year-old Cuban first entered the IPC Athletics spotlight when he won gold in the long jump T12 at the London 2012 Paralympics and then followed that up with another title-winning performance at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships.

Meanwhile, less than a year ago, when Brazilian 18-year-old Veronica Hipolito clocked a world-record time of 13.19 in the women’s 100m T38 sprint at last year’s World Championships, many were uncertain whether she could consistently run under 14 seconds.

She proved herself yet again on Thursday when she won the 100m T38 in a time of 13.52, establishing herself as the favourite in the event ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

“In Lyon last year, it was my fourth official competition. Today, I’m happy to be seen as one of the favourites,” Hipolito told the Brazilian Paralympic Committee. “I’m always trying to improve my times, and in 2016 at the Rio Games, I want to break the 100m world record again.”

Another young Brazilian, 17-year-old Raissa Machado, showed her potential by winning the javelin F56/57 with a national record throw of 14.67m. In 2013, Machado won gold in the event at the Parapan Youth American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Brazil’s Lucas Prado (11.54) raced to gold in the men’s 100m T11 ahead of teammate Felipe de Souza Gomes, while in the women’s race Terezhina Guilhermina (12.28) led a Brazilian clean sweep, though she fell well short of her world-record time of 12.01.

The men’s 100m sprints for leg amputees featured two of the world’s best in Sao Paulo, with the USA’s Richard Browne clocking in at 11.27 in the T44 class and Australia’s Scott Reardon finishing in 12.47 in the T42 class.

Another international sprint star, South African Dyan Buis impressed in the men’s 100m T38, clocking in at 11.46 ahead of Brazil’s Edson Cavalcante Pinheiro.

The II Caixa Loterias Athletics Open Championships run through to Saturday (26 April).