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Pole vaulter Robeilys Peinado became the first Venezuelan to win a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships in London.
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The 19-year-old Peinado was the youngest athlete to compete in the competition. She was ecstatic at the historic win.
"It's very unexpected," said Peinado. "When my coach (the Ukrainian Vyacheslav Kalinichenko) was calling me to give me the flag, I did not believe it. He would tell me, 'I can not be third,' until I saw him and saw him on the screen." she told El Nuevo Herald.
"I will not be able to sleep tonight," she added.
Peinado shared the bronze with Cuba's Yarisley Silva, both with a record of 4.65 meters. Peinado's vault equaled her national record, Reuters reported.
"At first I was uncomfortable because I'm not accustomed to sharing a mat with such athletes. But now I am included in that group," Peinado said.
"I met Yarisley when I started my steps on the pole, and now I'm sharing the podium with her. What more can I ask for? "
Twelve athletes made it to the final round. Peinado qualified in third place with a score of 4.56 meters, according to the World Athletics Federation.
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Ekateríni Stefanid, from Greece, took first place with a jump of 4.91 meters and second place went to Sandi Morris of the United States with 4.75 meters mark.
Peinado who was supposed to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, suffered a cut in her left hand and couldn't participate in any sports activity for nearly six months.
"I was six months without being able to grab anything, everything fell out," she told El Nuevo Herald. "I think what happened in Rio was the best. When a door is closed, many more are opened ... I was the youngest of the finalists. I'm going to continue. If I had that problem in Rio and I could come back, you can imagine how far I can go. "
Peinado has been living and training in Poland since February. Since she speaks little English and Polish, her social engagements were limited.
"I do not go out, I do not do anything. My distraction is traveling to competitions. I do not have the Internet, because it is limited, I do not have television, but it does not matter because I do not understand it. It's a very big sacrifice that I'm making, but it's paying off so far," she said.
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