Jennifer Padilla González (also spelled; born 1 January 1990) is a Colombian

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 competes in the

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 ...

and

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

sprint events. Her first name is also spelled Yenifer of Yennifer. She won the 400 m title at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

as well as two bronze medals in the relay for Colombia. She set her 400 m personal best of 51.53 seconds at the competition. Padilla was a medallist in the individual and relay sprinting events at the

South American Championships in Athletics The South American Championships in Athletics is a biennial athletics event organized by CONSUDATLE. The first edition in 1919 was competed between only two countries (Chile and Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, ...

in both 2009 and 2011. She jointly holds the

National records National Records was a record label that was started in New York City by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted until early 1951. Big Joe Turner was signed at the beginning and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as ...

for the 4×400 metres with a time of 3:29.94 minutes.

Career

Born in

Quibdó Quibdó () is the capital city of Chocó Department, in the Pacific/Chocó natural region, Pacific Region of Colombia, and is located on the Atrato River. The municipality of Quibdó has an area of and a population of 129,237, predominantly A ...

Chocó Department Chocó Department () is a department of the Pacific region of Colombia known for hosting the largest Afro-Colombian population in the nation, and a large population of Amerindian and mixed African-Amerindian Colombians. It is in the west of the ...

, she won the Colombian youth title over 200 m in 2007 and made her first international appearances two years later. At the age of nineteen she won her first senior medals, taking the 200 m

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

at the

2009 South American Championships in Athletics The 2009 South American Championships in Athletics (Spanish: ''2009 Campeonatos Sudamericanos'') was the forty sixth edition of the tournament and was held between 19 and 21 June in Lima, Peru. Brazil dominated the tournament, easily finishing w ...

and sharing in the 4×400 metres silver with the Colombian team. Although the 2009 South American Junior Athletics Championships was for younger athletes, she repeated the same placings in both the 200 m and 4×100 m relay events. A week later she ran at the 2009 Pan American Junior Championships in Athletics. She came sixth in the 200 m but demonstrated her strength in the 400 metres sprint by winning the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in a time of 53.60 seconds. Her fourth and final international outing of the year came at the 2009 Bolivarian Games and she won the 400 m silver and 400 m relay gold medals.Yennifer Padilla
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2011-11-03. She began the next season with appearances at the

2010 South American Games The IX South American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Sudamericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos'') was a multi-sport event held between 19 and 30 March 2010 in Medellín, Colombia. The Games were organized by the South American Sports Organi ...

, at which she won the 400 m silver medal, came fourth in the 200 m, and ran in both the 100 m and 400 m relay events for Colombia, helping the team to second and first place, respectively. In June she ran at the 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics and claimed the 400 m silver medal behind Cuba's Daisurami Bonne. She was less successful individually at July's

2010 Central American and Caribbean Games The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish: ''XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, Mayagüez 2010'') took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010. Bid It was understood that Mayagüez was going to b ...

, being eliminated in the heats, but she managed to aid Colombia to second place in the 4×400 m relay with Alejandra Idrovo, Darlenis Obregón and Norma González. Returning to the continental competition, she was the runner-up in both 400 m individual and relay events at the

2011 South American Championships in Athletics The 2011 South American Championships in Athletics were the 47th edition of the South American Championships in Athletics, South American Championships, organised under the supervision of the CONSUDATLE. They were held at the CeNARD, National Cent ...

. She ran a 400 m personal best of 51.59 seconds in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

then placed fifth at the competitive 2011 CAC Championships. The high altitude conditions at the

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

saw Padilla run a personal best of 51.76 seconds in the heats then another best of 51.53 seconds in the final – a time which brought her the gold medal and made her the first South American woman to win the 400 m Pan American title. She went on to claim two further medals in athletics for Colombia at the games, first helping the 4×100 m relay team to the bronze medal, then anchoring Colombia's 4×400 m relay to a second bronze and a Colombian record mark of 3:29.94 minutes. She represented her country at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, but was disqualified in her heat. She had success at the 2012 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics, taking the 400 m title, a 100 m relay silver medal, and fourth place in the 200 m.Biscayart, Eduardo (24-09-2012)
Brazil dominates South American Under-23 Champs
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-01-27.

Personal bests

*100 m: 11.70 A (wind: NWI) –

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, 5 March 2010 *200 m: 23.32 (wind: +0.1 m/s) –

cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

, noviembre 2015 *400 m: 51.53 –

, 26 October 2011

International competitions

¹Did not finish in the final

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Jennifer 1990 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Quibdó Colombian female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Colombia Pan American Games gold medalists for Colombia Pan American Games bronze medalists for Colombia Pan American Games athletes for Colombia Pan American Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 South American Games South American Games gold medalists for Colombia South American Games silver medalists for Colombia South American Games bronze medalists for Colombia South American Games medalists in athletics Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Colombia Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Colombia Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Colombia Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games South American Games gold medalists in athletics Olympic female sprinters 21st-century Colombian sportswomen Bolivarian Games gold medalists for Colombia Bolivarian Games medalists in athletics Bolivarian Games silver medalists for Colombia