Yolanda Chen

Yolanda Chen
Personal information
Born (1961-07-26) July 26, 1961
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place1989 DuisburgLong jump
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place1989 The HagueLong jump
Representing  Russia
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1993 StuttgartTriple jump
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place1995 BarcelonaTriple jump
Silver medal – second place1993 TorontoTriple jump
For the cinematographer sometimes known as Yolanda Chen, see Yu-Lan Chen.

Yolanda Chen (Russian: Иоланда Чен; born July 26, 1961, in Moscow) is a retired Russian athlete. She started as a pentathlete, but decided to specialize in long jump. In 1988, she achieved a personal best of 7.16 metres, a good result, but from 1992 she switched to triple jump instead, a relatively new event for women. Inspired by her father Yevgeny Chen, who was among the world elite in the 1950s, she managed to jump 13.72 metres in 1992. Her great-grandfather was Eugene Chen.

In 1993, she improved to 14.97 metres, a new outdoor record which would also remain her personal best. Her record was beaten at the World Championships the same year by fellow Russian Anna Biryukova, who jumped 15.09m. In 1995, Chen appeared at the World Indoor Championships and won the gold medal with 15.03 metres, a new world indoor record, beating the prior record of 14.47m. She finished 11th at the World Championships the same year.

Chen married pole vaulter Yevgeniy Bondarenko. She now works as a commentator for the Russian Eurosport.

In 2023, she suggested postponing the 2024 Summer Olympics to 2025 because of controversies surrounding Russia's participation.[1]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventResultNotes
Representing the  Soviet Union
1983 Summer Universiade Edmonton, Canada 5th Long jump 6.52 m
1989 European Indoor Championships The Hague, Netherlands 2nd Long jump 6.86 m
Summer Universiade Duisburg, West Germany 1st Long jump 6.72 m
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 5th Long jump 6.90 m wind: +0.8 m/s
Representing  Russia
1993 World Indoor Championships Toronto, Canada 2nd Triple jump 14.36 m
World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 2nd Triple jump 14.70 m
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 4th Triple jump 14.48 m w (+2.2 m/s)
1995 World Indoor Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st Triple jump 15.03 m WR
World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 11th Triple jump 14.05 m

See also

References