Yerilda Zapata Explained

Yerilda Zapata
Birth Name:Yerilda Alexandra Zapata Rodríguez
Birth Date:3 January 1998
Birth Place:Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela
Country:Venezuela
Sport:Athletics
Coach:Ramón Salazar
Team:Deportivo Anzoátegui Sport Club[1]
Event:Discus throw
Pb:48.61 m (León, 2020)

Yerilda Alexandra Zapata Rodríguez (born 3 January 1998)[2] [3] is a Venezuelan athlete who specializes in discus throw. She set the Venezuelan national junior records in both discus and shot put.

Early life

Yerilda Alexandra Zapata Rodríguez was born in Anzoátegui, Venezuela, on 3 January 1998 to Yuliesy Rodríguez and former boxer Pedro Zapata. She was raised in a ranchito (shack,) in the Altavista area (compared to a favela) of Pozuelos, near Puerto la Cruz, where her father worked in the oil industry. She is one of six siblings, and her elder half-sister is triple jumper Yulimar Rojas.[4] [5] She has been trained by Ramón Salazar since 2008.

Career

Zapata competed in discus and shot put at the 2011 South American School Games, where she won the gold medal in discus with a throw of,[6] and the silver medal in shot with a put of .[7] [8] At the 2012 Venezuelan School Games, Zapata competed in the U14 discus and javelin. In the former event she won gold with a throw of, and in the latter she took silver with a throw.[9]

In the U17 special of the South American Championships in Athletics in July 2014, which was also the South American qualifiers for the 2015 World Youth Championships in Athletics, Zapata took the gold in discus with a throw of .[10]

She then competed in both discus and 8 × 100 metres relay at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics,[2] [5] and discus at the 2015 World Youth Championships, throwing a personal best of .[11] She came second at the 2015 Central American and Caribbean School Games, throwing in the discus,[12] and took bronze at the 2015 Ibero-American Junior Championships in Athletics.[13]

She won the gold in discus at the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Venezuelan National Championships.[14] [15] [16] In August 2020 she participated in a Royal Spanish Athletics Federation control event in León, Spain, winning the women's discus with a best distance of .[17]

Zapata's ambition is to go to the Olympic Games and, with Rojas, become the first siblings to win medals for Venezuela,[18] something which Rojas has also expressed a desire to achieve.[19]

Personal bests

Source:[15]

(2017)

(2020)

Records held

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 18 September 2016. Club Tacariguas brilla en la Liga de Atletismo de Venezuela. 4 August 2021. es-ES.
  2. Web site: Olympedia – Yerilda Zapata. 4 August 2021. www.olympedia.org.
  3. Web site: Otra brillante actuación de Levaggi. 4 August 2021. 0223. es.
  4. Web site: 11 June 2021. Dios salve a la reina: Venezuela espera ver coronada a Yulimar Rojas en Tokio-2020. 3 August 2021. France 24. AFP. es.
  5. Web site: Devaney. Andy. With 'Perfect' Jump, World Record-Holder Yulimar Rojas Marks Beginning Of New Era. Sustain Health Magazine. 4 August 2021.
  6. Web site: Lanzamiento de disco – Femenina – Atletismo. 4 August 2021. Juegos Sudamericanos Escolares 2011.
  7. Web site: Colombia obtuvo segundo oro en atletismo. 4 August 2021. Juegos Sudamericanos Escolares 2011.
  8. Web site: Yerilda Alexsandra Zapata Rodríguez. 4 August 2021. Juegos Sudamericanos Escolares 2011.
  9. Web site: 10 September 2012. ▷ #Deportes: Jhoanmy Luque con buen salto. 4 August 2021. El Impulso. es.
  10. Web site: Atletismo: Uruguay y las fernandinas brillaron en Colombia; Aldana Machado y Jennifer Silva son de oro!. La Prensa. es. 21 July 2014.
  11. Web site: Start List: Discus Throw Girls. IAAF. 2015.
  12. Web site: 23 November 2015. Atletas mexicanos, con 13 oros en juegos centroamericanos y del Caribe. 4 August 2021. SinEmbargo MX. es.
  13. Web site: Festival Ibero Americano – 06/06/2015 Sub 18. Fed Mx de Asoc Atletismo Athletic Club. 6 June 2015. es.
  14. Web site: Cova y Genesis Romero lucen en el Nacional de Venezuela. Atletismo Sudamericano. 4 August 2021. es.
  15. Web site: Yerilda Alexandra ZAPATA | Profile | World Athletics. 4 August 2021. worldathletics.org.
  16. Web site: Gerson Izaguirre fue protagonista en el Nacional de Venezuela. Atletismo Sudamericano. 4 August 2021. es.
  17. Web site: Control RFEA de Lanzamientos-CEARD Leon. RFEA. 22 August 2020.
  18. Web site: Yulimar Rojas va por el oro en Tokio 2020. 4 August 2021. Meridiano. es.
  19. Web site: Yulimar espera a su hermana. Qué Pasa. 4 August 2021. es.
  20. News: Corrales. Juan Andrés. Zapata buscará mantenerse en la élite de su generación. El Tiempo. 22 December 2015. 26. 4 August 2021. Issuu. es.