Madeline de Jesús

Madeline de Jesús

Personal information
Full name	Madeline de Jesús Candelaria
Born	(1957-11-04) November 4, 1957 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Height	167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Country	Puerto Rico
Events	long jump and triple jump
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games 1982 Havana Long jump Central American & Caribbean Championships 1977 Jalapa 4×400 m relay 1979 Guadalajara 4×100 m relay 1979 Guadalajara Long jump 1981 Santo Domingo Long jump 1983 Havana 4×100 m relay 1983 Havana 4×400 m relay 1983 Havana Long jump 1987 Caracas Long jump Ibero-American Championships 1988 Mexico City Long jump

Madeline de Jesús (born November 4, 1957) is a Puerto Rican former track and field athlete who specialized in the long jump. She won a bronze medal at the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games and went on to represent Puerto Rico globally, competing in the long jump at both the 1984 Los Angeles and 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

De Jesús is most famously remembered for orchestrating a notorious twin-switching scandal at the 1984 Olympic Games. After suffering an injury during her individual long jump event, she realized she could not compete in the 4 × 400-meter relay and secretly enlisted her identical twin sister, Margaret, to run the qualifying heat as an imposter. Although the team successfully advanced, the Puerto Rican head coach discovered the deception and withdrew the squad from the final.

Career

He was born on 4 November 1957.^[1]

He competed in the long jump at the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games. He won the bronze medal with a jump of 6.47 m, losing to Eloína Echevarría, who reached 6.53 m, and Shonel Ferguson, who reached 6.47 m.^[2] She competed in two Olympics, in the finishing in position 21st in round 1 of two rounds^[3] and in 1988 Summer Olympics, finishing in position 23rd in round 1 of two rounds.^[4]

Olympic cheating

After Puerto Rico's Madeline de Jesus got injured while competing in the long jump, she was unable to run in the 4×400-meter relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. She came up with a plan and enlisted her identical twin sister, Margaret, as an imposter for a qualifying heat. Margaret ran the second leg of the qualifier, and the team advanced but when the chief coach of the Puerto Rican team learned of the ruse, he pulled his team out of the final.^[5][6]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Puerto Rico
1977	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Xalapa, Mexico	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:48.57
1978	Central American and Caribbean Games	Medellín, Colombia	6th	Long jump	5.74 m
1979	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Guadalajara, Mexico	3rd	4 × 100 m relay	47.16
			2nd	Long jump	5.87 m
	Pan American Games	San Juan, Puerto Rico	–	4 × 100 m relay	DQ
			7th	Long jump	5.88 m
1981	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Santo Domingo, DR	3rd	Long jump	6.20 m
	Universiade	Bucharest, Romania	13th	Long jump	6.17 m
1982	Central American and Caribbean Games	Havana, Cuba	3rd	Long jump	6.47 m
1983	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Havana, Cuba	2nd	4 × 100 m relay	46.69
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:39.36
			2nd	Long jump	6.49 m
1984	Olympic Games[7]	Los Angeles, United States	21st (q)	Long jump	5.63 m
1987	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Caracas, Venezuela	2nd	Long jump	6.11 m
	Pan American Games	Indianapolis, United States	5th	Long jump	6.28 m
1988	Ibero-American Championships	Mexico City, Mexico	1st	Long jump	6.96 m A
	Olympic Games[7]	Seoul, South Korea	23rd (q)	Long jump	6.08 m

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans

References

External links

• Madeline de Jesús at World Athletics
• Madeline de Jesús at Olympedia