Almir Cunha dos Santos (born 4 September 1993) is a Brazilian male track and field athlete who competes in the triple jump and long jump. He was a silver medallist in the triple jump at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2018.

Almir dos Santos
Personal information
Born (1993-09-04) 4 September 1993 (age 31)
Matupá, Mato Grosso, Brazil[1]
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Triple jump
Long jump
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Brazil
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Birmingham Triple jump
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2023 Santiago Triple jump

Athletic career

edit

Born in Matupá, in the central state of Mato Grosso, he took up athletics at a young age, initially focusing on the high jump. He moved to Porto Alegre and had his first success at the 2010 South American Youth Championships in Athletics, where he took the gold medal.[2][3] He tried out the long jump, clearing 7.26 m (23 ft 9+34 in) in 2011 and competing in qualifying at the 2012 World Junior Championships, but remained focused on the high jump until 2014 – a season in which he set a personal best of 2.18 m (7 ft 1+34 in).[4]

After little progress in the high jump in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, he returned to the long jump in 2017. He came away with an improved best of 7.96 m (26 ft 1+14 in) and a fifth-place finish at the South American Championships.[5] However, it was the triple jump in which he showed the most promise that year, setting a best of 16.86 m (55 ft 3+34 in) in his hometown of Porto Alegre.[4]

He indicated himself as an elite jumper in the 2018 season, starting with a jump of 17.06 m (55 ft 11+12 in) at an American meeting in Kent, Ohio.[6] He backed this up with a performance at the top level Madrid Indoor Meeting in February, winning with a world-leading mark of 17.35 m (56 ft 11 in) ahead of former world and Olympic champion Nelson Évora.[7] These performances qualified him for the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships, and in the final, he took the lead in round two with a clearance of 17.22 m (56 ft 5+34 in). He improved further to 17.41 m (57 ft 1+14 in), two centimetres short of the new leader Will Claye, and left with a silver medal from his senior global debut.[8]

After 2018, Almir dos Santos had a series of injuries, and only in 2022 he returned to compete at a high level, reaching the final of the triple jump at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, finishing in 7th place.[9]

In july 2023, at the 2023 South American Championships in Athletics, qualified for the 2023 World Championships and for the 2024 Olympic Games in the triple jump, by jumping 17.24m.[10]

At the 2024 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics, held in Cuiabá, he broke the competition record and confirmed the Olympic index to compete in the triple jump in Paris, jumping 17.31m.[11]

International competitions

edit
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2010 South American Youth Championships Santiago, Chile 1st High jump 2.00 m
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 26th (q) High jump 2.05 m
2017 South American Championships Asunción, Paraguay 5th Long jump 7.51 m w
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 2nd Triple jump 17.41 m
2019 Pan American Games Lima, Peru 4th Triple jump 16.70 m
World Championships Doha, Qatar 12th Triple jump 15.01 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 23rd (q) Triple jump 16.27 m
2022 South American Indoor Championships Cochabamba, Bolivia 2nd Triple jump 16.59 m
Ibero-American Championships La Nucía, Spain 4th Triple jump 16.59 m
World Championships Eugene, United States 7th Triple jump 16.87 m
2023 South American Championships São Paulo, Brazil 1st Triple jump 17.24 m
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 21st (q) Triple jump 16.48 m
Pan American Games Santiago, Chile 2nd Triple jump 16.92 m
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 10th Triple jump 16.63 m
Ibero-American Championships Cuiabá, Brazil 1st Triple jump 17.31 m
Olympic Games Paris, France 11th Triple jump 16.41 m

Personal bests

edit
  • High jump – 2.18 m (7 ft 1+34 in) (2014)
  • Long jump – 7.96 m (26 ft 1+14 in) (2017)
  • Triple jump – 17.53 m (57 ft 6 in) (2018)
  • Triple jump indoor – 17.46 m (57 ft 3+14 in) (2019)

Season's best (triple jump)

edit
  • 2017 – 16.86
  • 2018 – 17.53
  • 2019 – 17.46
  • 2020 – 16.65
  • 2021 – 17.14
  • 2022 – 17.10
  • 2023 – 17.24
  • 2024 – 17.31

References

edit
edit