Yoandri Betanzos

Yoandri (or Yoandris) Betanzos Francis (born February 15, 1982, in Santiago de Cuba) is a Cuban athlete competing in the triple jump.

Early life and career They say, he was almost born on the track: His mother, Cuban sprinter Amarailis Francis, suffered from a heavy abdominal pain during her daily practice, and was immediately transferred to a hospital in her hometown Santiago de Cuba. A couple of hours later, she gave birth to her son.

Later, he moved to Ciego de Ávila, the hometown of his father, Cuban boxer Álvaro Betanzos, and started his sports career following in his father's footsteps as a boxer. After about a year, he changed to athletics, firstly competing as a high jumper. In 1993, he became Cuban national champion in his age group setting a new record of 1.86 m, beating the old mark set by Javier Sotomayor. As he was not tall enough, his coaches proposed to change to triple jump.

Personal bests His personal best outdoor jump is 17.65 metres, achieved in April 2009 in Havana. As of 21 June 2013, this result places him sixth on the all-time Cuban performers list, behind Yoelbi Quesada, Lázaro Betancourt, Aliecer Urrutia, Pedro Pichardo, and Alexis Copello.