Yania FERRALES

Focus on Athletes biographies are produced by the IAAF Communications Dept, and not by the IAAF Statistics and Documentation Division. If you have any enquiries concerning the information, please use the Contact IAAF page, selecting ‘Focus on Athletes Biographies’ in the drop down menu of contact area options.

Updated August 20 2007

Yania FERRALES Monteagudo, Cuba (Discus Throw)

Born 18 July 1977, Moron, Ciego de Avila, 1.80m 86kg

Coach: Raul Calderon

Yania Ferrales has taken up the challenge of keeping Cuban women´s discus in the world elite since the retirement of 1992 Olympic champion Maritza Marten and national record holder Hilda Elisa Ramos.

Like all Cuban athletes, Ferrales started combining different athletic disciplines. But she realised her potential for the Discus and soon began to enjoy some success. After dominating on home soil, she claimed her first international win when she took the gold at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships, in El Salvador, in 1996.
.
Then it took a while for Ferrales to start maturing at the next level. In 2001, she won the senior Central American and Caribbean Championships gold in St. George’s and, a year later, was second at the Ibero-American Championships, in Guatemala, City.

In 2003, Ferrales finally reached the 60 metres mark in a season when she successfully defended her CAC crown, in Guatemala, and clinched the bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games, in Santo Domingo.

A year later, she improved to gold at the Ibero-American Champs in Huelva, Spain, and a few days later, she made it to the Olympic final, in Athens. However, she could not handle the pressure of a packed stadium and failed to achieve a valid throw.
In 2005, Ferrales improved her PB to 64.52, in Prague, but failed to qualify for the final of the World Championships, in Helsinki.

Ferrales has not competed much internationally over the past few years, but she managed to improve her best to 66.00 in 2006. She also claimed her first international title in two years when taking the gold at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Lacking competitive experiece after the Games, she could only finish seventh at the World Cup in Athens.

In 2007, Ferrales has stayed consistent over 63 metres, although she has faced a strong challenge from her training partner, Yarelis Barrios, who has improved her best by over five metres to 66.68.

The 30-year old shows a season’s best of 64.97, but had to settle for silver, behind Barrios, at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. At the World Championships in Osaka, Ferrales will compete for the first time in Asia and will try to make up for her disappointment in Helsinki.

Progression
1995: 45.64; 1996: 51.94; 1997: 53.82; 1998: 56.40; 1999: 56.94; 2000: 57.40; 2001: 56.90; 2002: 59.04; 2003: 61.34; 2004: 62.88; 2005: 64.52; 2006: 66.00; 2007:64.97.

Personal best

66.00 (2006)

Career highlights

1996  1st  Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships
2001  1st   Central American and Caribbean Championships
2002  2nd  Ibero-American Championships
2003  1st  Central American and Caribbean Championships
2003  3rd    Pan American Games
2004  1st  Ibero-American Championships
2006  1st  Central American and Caribbean Games
2006  7th  World Cup
2007  2nd   Pan American Games

Prepared by Javier Clavelo for the IAAF ‘Focus on Athletes’ project. © IAAF 2007.