“The idea of retiring hasn’t crossed my mind, I don’t know who said that. As long as I want to jump and have a positive attitude I am going to continue,” said Pedroso.

He does not put on an act, remains unaffected by the interview and has an impish smile when he talks. “In Athens, I was unlucky, I always thought that I could win a medal with a good jump, but I lacked coordination because I arrived after only two prior practice competitions,” explained Pedroso after a training session in the East Havana stadium.

However, he acknowledged that his Olympic seventh-place position with an 8.23m jump “psychologically affected me to an extent,” in a competition won by U.S. long jumper Dwight Phillips with an 8.59m jump. Pedroso took the gold at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney four years earlier.

But the Cuban confirmed that he has recovered. “That’s passed and gone and now I’m only thinking of the future.”

32-year-old Pedroso admitted that Phillips is the current number one, but added: “I respect all my rivals equally without obsessing on anyone in particular. “

“A jumper reaches maturity at 30 years of age and can benefit from all the years of sacrifice, as well as the tricks of the trade,” he added.

Pedroso attained his personal best record of 8.71 m in 1995 and stated that he does not have the 2005 program, and still does not know if he will enter the indoor competitions.

“I only want to achieve a big jump in front of my fans here in Havana, to enter confidently and to remind Cubans that they can still rely on me,” he stated with assurance.

The Cuban dominated the long jump after U.S. long jumpers Carl Lewis and Mike Powell retired, the latter having set a world record with 8.95m jump. Pedroso won four world titles in Gothenburg (1995), Athens (1997), Seville (1999) and Edmonton (2001).

By: Granma