Irene Martínez Tartabull (28 October 1946 – April 2014) was a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and the short

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

s. She was the first woman from the Central American and Caribbean region to clear six metres in the long jump. She was also the first Cuban to win a jumps gold medal at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

– a discipline in which the country later became highly successful. Martínez broke the Cuban record for the long jump eleven times, resulting in a lifetime best of . She was a gold medallist in the long jump at the

1966 Central American and Caribbean Games The tenth Central American and Caribbean Games were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 11 to July 25, 1966. These games were one of the largest ever with a total number of 1,689 athletes from eighteen participating na ...

and was the inaugural champion at the

1967 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The inaugural 1967 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Heriberto Jara Corona in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico between 5–7 May. Medal summary Men's events Women's events A = affected by altitude M ...

. She also enjoyed success in the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

, winning medals at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games, officially known as the IV Pan American Games () and commonly known as São Paulo 1963, were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted b ...

1963 Summer Universiade The 1963 Summer Universiade, also known as the III Summer Universiade, took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Sports at the 1963 Summer Universiade * * * * * * * * * Medal table 1963 U U Summer Universiade Universiade The FISU World ...

and the 1966 CAC Games, as well as twice breaking the national record for the event.

Career

Early life and career

Born in

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 178,368 in 2022. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, ...

, she was among the first athletes to enroll in the new national

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

program established after the end of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

in 1959. Her talent for running was noticed at high school and she transferred to a school in Havana to focus on sports in 1961. Among her contemporaries were sprinters

Aurelia Pentón Aurelia Catalina Pentón Conde (born February 13, 1941) is a retired track and field athlete from Cuba, who competed in the 400 and 800 metres during her career. Pentón was born in Sancti Spíritus, and twice represented her native country at ...

Fulgencia Romay Fulgencia Romay Martínez (born January 16, 1944) is a retired sprinter from Cuba. At the 1968 Summer Olympics she helped win a silver medal in 4 x 100 metres relay, the first Olympic medal ever won by a Cuban woman. At the 1 ...

, and

Miguelina Cobián Miguelina Cobián Hechevarria (19 December 1941 – 1 December 2019) was a Cuban Sprint (running), sprinter. She was a member of the Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay, 4 x 100 metres relay team that won a si ...

.Ríos López, Eyleen (2012-11-30)
Orgullos y añoranzas en hora de recuento
. JIT. Retrieved on 2016-04-28. Her first international selection came at the age of fifteen and she managed fourth place in the long jump at the

1962 Central American and Caribbean Games The ninth Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Kingston, the capital city of Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of t ...

. She rose to prominence the following year – at the

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

she took fifth in the long jump and helped set a Cuban record in the

of 46.44 seconds alongside Romay, Cobián and Nereida Borges. She added to this with a fourth-place finish in the long jump and a relay bronze at the

. That year she achieved her first national record in the long jump, clearing in June (to beat

Bertha Díaz Julia Berta Díaz Hernández (October 1, 1936 – November 20, 2019), known as Berta Díaz, was a Sprint (running), sprinter from Cuba, who also competed in the long jump and the hurdling events during her career. She represented her native ...

's 1962 CAC Games-winning mark by one centimetre), then improving further to one week later. Her fourth national record of the year came that December, as she was part of a Cuban relay quartet that ran 46.2 seconds.

Regional champion

Despite being the country's best jumper, Martínez was not selected for the

1964 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequ ...

on account of her young age (she was still 17 at the time of the tournament). That year, she improved the Cuban long jump record on five occasions, beginning with a jump of in April and ending with a clearance of in November. She struggled to improve in the 1965 season, managing a best of , but set a lifetime best in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

with a time of 11.8 seconds. Martínez became the first woman from the Central America and Caribbean region to surpass six metres for the long jump, doing so with a jumps of then at a meeting in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.1966 Central American and Caribbean Games The tenth Central American and Caribbean Games were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 11 to July 25, 1966. These games were one of the largest ever with a total number of 1,689 athletes from eighteen participating na ...

, where she succeeded fellow Cuban Díaz to the women's long jump title with a Games record of . (The title would remain in Cuban hands for all but one edition over the next 25 years, courtesy of wins by Marcia Garbey, Eloína Echevarría and Niurka Montalvo.) The 21-year-old won the third major international relay medal of her career, taking the silver with the Cuban women behind a Jamaican team led by

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

champion

Una Morris Una Lorraine Morris (born 17 January 1947) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, physician, restaurateur, and food caterer. She represented Jamaica at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics in eight sprint events in total, with the best achievement ...

. Martínez had a very patriotic approach to the competition and held up her performance as a tribute to her country – her greatest memory of the period was of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

signing her two medals. The best performances of her career were in the 1967 season. In June she improved the Cuban national record for the tenth time with a jump of in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. At the

she became the first women's long jump champion with a result of , narrowly beating her compatriot Garbey – Marina Samuells and Garbey would turn Martínez's 1967 win into a four-edition streak of wins for Cuba. Cuba took a sweep of the women's titles at the event held in Mexico.

American gold and late career

Martínez was chosen for the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games, officially known as the V Pan American Games () and commonly known as Winnipeg 1967, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on ...

and she came up against the defending champion,

Willye White Willye Brown White (December 31, 1939 – February 6, 2007) was an American track and field athlete who took part in five Olympics from 1956 to 1972. She was America's best female long jumper of the time and also competed in the 100 meters sprint ...

of the United States. White produced a jump of – two centimetres further than her winning jump four years earlier. However, that mark was not sufficient as Martínez produced the best jump of her life at . This was a Pan American Games record and good 13 cm clear of runner-up Gisela Vidal (6.20 m). The pre-event favourite, American

Martha Watson Martha Rae Watson (born August 19, 1946) is a retired American track and field athlete. She qualified for four Olympics, 1964–1976 in the long jump, but also was a fast enough sprinter to be on two United States 4 x 100 metres relay teams. Sh ...

, did not make the podium. Martínez's performance made her the first ever Cuban athlete – male or female – to win a Pan American gold medal in a jumping discipline. Cuba has since gone on to produce numerous world class jumpers, such as world record holder

Javier Sotomayor Javier Sotomayor Sanabria (; born 13 October 1967) is a Cuban former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and is the current Men's high jump world record progression, world record holder. The 1992 Summer Olympics, 1992 Olymp ...

, four-time long jump world champion

Iván Pedroso Iván Lázaro Pedroso Soler (; born December 17, 1972) is a retired Cuban track and field athlete, who specialized in the long jump, and the current coach of Nelson Évora, Yulimar Rojas, and Jordan Díaz. Career Pedroso was born in Havana ...

and double triple jump world champion

Yargelis Savigne Yargelis Savigne Herrera (born 13 November 1984 in Niceto Pérez, Guantanamo) is a Cuban athlete competing in the triple jump and long jump. Her international breakthrough came in 2005, when she, competing in both the triple and long jump eve ...

. She hoped to be selected for Cuba at the 1968 Summer Olympics, but did not receive a call-up to compete. The selectors requested that she be part of the team as an alternate for the 4 × 100 metres relay, but she refused due to her damaged pride of not being selected individually – a decision she regretted later in life. She produced marks of and in the 1969 and 1970 seasons, but she retired at age 24, having failed to recapture her best form. After retiring from competition she went into academia and became a professor of

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

at the

Instituto Técnico Militar The Instituto Técnico Militar (lit. Technical Military Institute), originally designed as the Colegio de Belén, Havana, is located at 45th and 66th streets in Marianao, Havana, Cuba. History Her Majesty Isabella II, Queen of Spain, issued a ...

in Havana. She remained in the role for almost 30 years. She died in April 2014 and was buried at

Colon Cemetery, Havana El Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón (English: the Christopher Columbus Cemetery), also called La Necrópolis de Cristóbal Colón, was founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana, Cuba, to replace the Espada Cemetery in the Barrio de S ...

, alongside other Cuban female athletes.Ríos López, Eyleen (2014-04-28)
Falleció Irene Martínez
. JIT. Retrieved on 2016-04-28.

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Irene 1946 births 2014 deaths Sportspeople from Cienfuegos Cuban female long jumpers Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games silver medalists for Cuba Pan American Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Cuban academics Cuban women academics Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Competitors at the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Cuba Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games 20th-century Cuban sportswomen