PEINADO Robeilys

General
RIO INJURY HEARTACHE
She says she initially struggled after she suffered an injury at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, ruling her out of the pole vault event. "I was training with a new pole, two days before the competition. The pole was good, flexible. The session was already over when my coach told me to try one more vault. And then it happened. It was hard to accept. I was out for six months and even thought about leaving the sport." However, following her recovery she went on to win bronze at the 2017 World Championships in London, England. "Now I think that what happened in Rio was the best. When a door was closed, many more opened up. If I had that accident in Rio and came back, I can do anything." (elimpulso.com, 07 Aug 2017; telesurtv.net, 27 Feb 2020; HispanoPost YouTube channel, 15 Sep 2017)

MOVE TO POLAND
In 2015 she relocated to Poland to train with Ukrainian coach Viacheslav Kalinichenko, initially for a year. "He has a unique methodology. He figured out how I can improve. We make a very good team and we understand each other." In February 2017 she made the move permanent. "My only focus is competitions. It's a big sacrifice what I'm doing here, but it has been worthwhile." (elimpulso.com, 07 Aug 2017; efe.com, 22 Nov 2017; Facebook profile, 02 Mar 2020)

She became the first Venezuelan athletics competitor to win a medal at the world championships, when she claimed bronze in pole vault at the 2017 edition of the tournament in London, England. The medal also made her the youngest pole vaulter to win a medal at the world championships, at age 19 years and 253 days. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Sep 2020)