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Born in Santiago de Cuba,[1] Alcántara's talent for track and field was identified at a young age. She competed in sprinting events and the high jump, but found most success in the triple jump, taking victories at the Cuban schools games in 2002 and 2004. A triple jump/long jump double followed at the 2006 ESPA high school championships.[citation needed] Her international debut came at the age of fifteen at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics. She entered the competition as the world's leading youth athlete with her personal best of 14.21 m and claimed the triple jump title ahead of fellow Cuban Josleidy Ribalta.[2] She also placed seventh in the long jump.[3]
She focused just on the triple jump from 2010 onwards. She won the Barrientos Memorial that year, setting a best of 14.34 m there.[9] At the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics she became the first athlete to win back-to-back triple jump titles and was over 30 cm ahead of the competition.[10] The following year she set a personal best of 14.56 m in Havana, then had podium finishes on the Brazilian Athletics Tour. She was one of four Cuban women to compete in the triple jump at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, but on her major debut her mark of 13.78 m was not enough to reach the final.[3] She defeated two-time world champion Yargelis Savigne at the 2012 IAAF Centenary meet in Havana with a personal best jump of 14.58 m.[11] She came third at the adidas Grand PrixDiamond League meet in New York City in June and made her first Cuban Olympic team a month later.[12][13]
Personal bests
Outdoor
Long jump: 6.41 m (wind: +1.9 m/s) – Bydgoszcz, 12 July 2008
Triple jump: 14.58 m (wind: -1.4 m/s) – La Habana, 27 May 2012