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1889-Yunidis Castillo photo

Yunidis Castillo

Cuban flag
Cuba
Athletics
7
1

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency
Origin of Impairment
Acquired
Classification
T46, F46

Further personal information

Family
Husband Samuel, son Gabriel
Residence
Havana, CUB
Languages
Spanish
Higher education
Inter American University of Puerto Rico: Fajardo, PUR

Sport specific information

Why this sport?
"The truth is I did not like athletics when I was at school. Even though I was among the best, I preferred judo, which was the main sport I practised during my childhood. However, I have always been fast so I usually got selected to join my school's athletics team. [After the accident] I suddenly realised I could not practise judo anymore. It was then that it was suggested I take up athletics, since I was so good at it. I did some research and came up with para-athletics."
Club / Team
Asociacion Cubana de Limitados Fisico-motores [ACLIFIM]: Cuba
Name of coach
Miriam Ferrer [personal], CUB

International debut

Year
2003
Competing for
Cuba
Tournament
International Tournament
Location
Mar del Plata, ARG

General interest

Nicknames
The Queen of Speed, Bullet (juventudrebelde.cu, 23 Jun 2011; juventudrebelde.cu, 13 Sep 2008)
Hobbies
Spending time with her son Gabriel. (paralympic.org, 19 Aug 2015)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning five gold medals at the Paralympic Games. (Athlete, 22 Oct 2015)
Most influential person in career
Her family, and her coach. (Athlete, 22 Oct 2015)
Hero / Idol
Cuban middle distance runner Ana Fidelia Quirot. (Athlete, 22 Oct 2015)
Injuries
She sustained an injury while competing in the T47 100m final at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The injury prevented her from participating in the T47 200m and T47 400m events at the Games. (paralympic.org, 27 Sep 2016; SportsDeskOnline, 16 Sep 2016)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"Athletics is a sport of perseverance." (palcodeportivo.blogspot.nl, 05 Dec 2012)
Awards and honours
She was named the 2012 Best Female Athlete with an Impairment by the Cuban National Institute of Sports Physical Education and Recreation [INDER]. (bohemia.cu, 21 Dec 2012)
Impairment
Her right arm was amputated after she was involved in a road accident at age 10. She was travelling by bus to a judo competition when the vehicle slid off the wet road, causing her to be thrown around the bus. She spent 13 days in intensive care following the accident. (paralympic.org, 19 Aug 2016)

Results

Unit Date Rank
Athens 2004 Paralympic Games (Athens, Greece)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Long Jump F44/46 Final Round 13
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games (Beijing, China)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 200 m T46 Final Round 1
Women's 200 m T46 Heat 1 1
Women's 100 m T46 Final Round 1
Women's 100 m T46 Heat 2 1
IPC Athletics World Championships Assen 2006 (Assen, Netherlands)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 200 m T46 Final Round 1
Women's 200 m T46 Heat 1 1
Women's 100 m T46 Final Round 1
Women's 100 m T46 Heat 2 1
2011 IPC Athletics World Championships (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 200 m T46 Heat 2 2011-01-22 1
Women's 200 m T46 Final 2011-01-23 1
Women's 100 m T46 Heat 2 2011-01-24 1
Women's 100 m T46 Final 2011-01-25 1
Women's 400 m T46 Final 2011-01-27 1
London 2012 Paralympic Games (London, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 200 m T46 Heat 2 2012-08-31 1
Women's 200 m T46 Final Round 2012-09-01 1
Women's 100 m T46 Heat 1 2012-09-04 1
Women's 100 m T46 Final Round 2012-09-05 1
Women's 400 m T46 Final Round 2012-09-08 1
IPC Athletics World Championships (Lyon, France)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 400 m T46 Final 1 2013-07-22 1
Women's 200 m T46 Semifinal 1 2013-07-24 1
Women's 200 m T46 Final 1 2013-07-25 1
Women's 100 m T46 Semifinal 2 2013-07-26 1
Women's 100 m T46 Final 1 2013-07-27 1
IPC Athletics 2015 World Championships (Doha, Qatar)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Long Jump T47 Final 1 2015-10-23 2
Women's Long Jump T47 WR Attempt 2015-10-23 2
Women's 400 m T47 Final 1 2015-10-26 2
Women's 200 m T47 Heat 1 2015-10-27 1
Women's 200 m T47 Final 1 2015-10-28 1
Women's 100 m T47 Heat 3 2015-10-29 1
Women's 100 m T47 Final 1 2015-10-30 9999
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Long Jump T47 Final Round 2016-09-08 2
Women's 100 m T47 Heat 2 2016-09-10 2
Women's 100 m T47 Final Round 2016-09-11 8
Women's 400 m T47 Heat 1 2016-09-13 9999
Women's 200 m T47 Heat 2 2016-09-15 9999