As if the track were an ocean and she a vessel made of muscle, Perez needed only two attempts to assert her dominance.

She opened with 14.45 meters and then soared to 14.65, a mark sufficient to seal the competition with imperial authority.

Behind the champion went Senegal’s Saly Sarr, with 14.21 meters, while Germany’s Caroline Joyeux completed the podium with 13.82 meters, in a competition where the Cuban never seemed threatened.

The victory confirms the status of an athlete who in 2015 conquered the world both indoors and outdoors, in addition to reigning supreme in the Diamond League, and who now asserts her dominance from the very first day of the season.

This jump also guarantees her direct qualification for the World Indoor Championships, scheduled for next month in Poland, the initial goal of a season that has barely begun but already has the makings of a great one.

Without pushing herself to the limit, with clean technique and the rhythm of a champion, Leyanis Pérez sent a clear message to the circuit: winter also has a queen, and she’s jumping from Cuba.

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