Dailis Caballero

Dailis Caballero Vega (born 6 March 1988) is a Cuban track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault. She has a personal best of 4.51 m for the event – the second highest by a Cuban woman. She represented Cuba at the 2011 Pan American Games and the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. She has won medals at the Central American and Caribbean Championships and Ibero-American Championships.

Born in Havana, Caballero began competing in the pole vault as a teenager and cleared four metres for the first time in 2007. She improved to 4.25 m the following year in Havana in June. At the Barrientos Memorial in 2009 she established herself nationally by finishing as runner-up to Yarisley Silva with a best of 4.30 m. The pair repeated that placing at the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics in Havana, bringing Caballero a silver medal on her international debut.

Her 2010 season was highlighted by a win at the Barrientos Memorial with a personal best-equalling vault. She had a marked improvement at the beginning of 2011, vaulting 4.45 m, then 4.51 m in Havana. She repeated her win at the Barrientos meet in 2011, but she then failed to clear a height at the 2011 CAC Championships. Two major international performances came towards the end of the season: she competed on the global stage for the first time at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics (performing in the qualifiers) and represented Cuba at the 2011 Pan American Games (finishing in seventh place).

Caballero competed on the European indoor circuit at the start of 2012 and set an indoor best of 4.42 m at the XL Galan. Outdoors she cleared 4.40 m in May and headed to Barquisimeto for the 2012 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics the month after to take her first international gold medal with a vault of 4.50 m. She was selected to compete for Cuba at the 2012 Summer Olympics alongside fellow vaulter Yarisley Silva.