Yasmani Copello Escobar (born 15 April 1987) is a Cuban-born

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 ...

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

who represents Turkey internationally. His personal best for the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

is 47.81 seconds, set in the final of the

2018 European Athletics Championships The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Grea ...

in Berlin. While representing Cuba he won a silver medal at the

2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships The 2008 in athletics (track and field), 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Pedro Grajales in Cali, Colombia between 4–6 July 2008 in athletics (track and field), 2008. A total of 44 events we ...

and was a gold medallist in the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

team at the

2008 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics The 2008 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (''Spanish: XIII Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo''), was an athletics competition which was held at the Estadio Tierra de Campeones in Iquique, Chile from June 13 to the 15th. A total of f ...

. He won two silver medals in the hurdles and two relay gold medals at the ALBA Games in 2007 and 2009. He moved to Turkey in 2012 and began representing his adopted country in 2014.

Career

;In Cuba He began competing at national level in Cuba as a teenager in 2006. That year he placed fourth in the

at the Cuban Athletics Championships and came fifth at the Olimpiada Cubana. He began 2007 with a series of personal bests. He improved in the

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 ...

flat to record 47.48 seconds at the Rafael Fortun National Meeting and a 400 m hurdles run of 50.43 seconds 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.Omar Cisneros Omar Cisneros Bonora (born 19 November 1989) is a Cuban track and field athlete who competes in the 400 metres hurdles. He is the Cuban records in athletics, Cuban national record holder for the event with his personal best of 47.99 seconds. ...

to take silver at the 2007 ALBA Games in a new best of 49.99 seconds. He teamed up with Cisneros to help Cuba to the gold medals in the

at the event. Copello won another title with the Cuban relay team at the

. He ran individually at the

, securing the silver 400 m hurdles medal behind Jamaica's Isa Phillips as well as running in the heats of the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

. He was provisionally named in the relay squad for

Cuba at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cuba competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, People's Republic of China. As of 8 August 2008, 165 Cuban athletes had qualified to compete in 16 sports. The country's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was wrestler Mijaín López. ...

, but ultimately did not compete. At the 2009 ALBA Games he repeated his finishes of two years earlier, coming second to Cisneros before sharing in a relay victory. His return at the

2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 2009 in athletics (track and field), 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships (Spanish: ''XXII Campeonato CAC Atletismo'') was the twenty second edition of the tournament and was held between 3 and 7 July in Havana, Cuba. Event summar ...

was less successful however, as he finished out of the medals in fifth place – the medallists, Javier Culson, Félix Sánchez and Jehue Gordon were all finalists at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

. That year brought new heights in performance, however, as in February in Havana he ran 21.44 seconds for 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 ...

, 46.77 seconds for the 400 m, and 49.56 seconds for the 400 m hurdles. Copello competing sparingly in 2010, with highlights being a second place at Cuba's

Barrientos Memorial The Barrientos Memorial () is an annual track and field meeting in Havana, Cuba each May. The event was first held in 1946, in recognition of José Barrientos (a former Cuban Olympic sprinter), who died in an aviation accident the previous year. ...

and a win at the 2010 Olimpiada Cubana. He won the 2011 Copa Cuba meet, but that proved to be his last win in his home nation. He moved to Turkey in 2012 and began competing for Fenerbahçe Athletics, winning at the national club championships. At the 2013 Meeting Val de Reuil in France, he achieved a personal best and Cuban record of 49.54 seconds for the uncommonly held indoor 400 m hurdles. This made his indoor best faster than his outdoor one – a highly unusual feat for a 400 m hurdler. ;In Turkey He opted for Turkish nationality in October 2013, and on 30 April 2014, he became eligible to represent Turkey internationally.

Personal bests

– 21.44 seconds (2009) *

– 46.77 seconds (2009) *

– 14.35 seconds (2008) *

(outdoor) – 47.81 seconds (2018) *400 metres hurdles (indoor) – 49.54 seconds (2013)

References

External links

* *
Yasmani Copello
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Copello, Yasmani 1987 births Living people Cuban male hurdlers Cuban male sprinters Cuban emigrants Immigrants to Turkey Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Naturalized citizens of Turkey Turkish people of Cuban descent Turkish male hurdlers Turkish male sprinters World Athletics Championships athletes for Turkey World Athletics Championships medalists European champions for Turkey European Championships (multi-sport event) silver medalists European Athletics Championships winners Fenerbahçe athletes Olympic male hurdlers Olympic athletes for Turkey Olympic bronze medalists for Turkey Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games competitors for Turkey Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Mediterranean Games gold medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Mediterranean Games Islamic Solidarity Games silver medalists for Turkey Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Turkish sportsmen Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Diamond League winners