Víctor Castillo

Career

His first international outing came at the 1998 South American Junior Championships in Athletics, where he came sixth in the long jump and was part of Venezuela's silver medal-winning 4×100 metres relay team. He returned to win the long jump gold medal at the 2000 event, beating Brazil's Thiago Dias. At the more competitive 2000 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics he came third with a wind-assisted mark of 7.77 m, finishing behind Leevan Sands of the Bahamas. The 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Chile that year and Castillo made his first world-level appearance and placed fourth, just outside the medal positions.

Castillo gained eligibility to compete for the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks: he broke the school record for the long jump and was fourth at the Drake Relays in 2003. He achieved his first success at senior level for Venezuela that year. He won the long jump title at the 2003 South American Championships in Athletics held in Barquisimeto, was fourth at the CAC Championships, and jumped his best of the year at the Pan American Games, taking the bronze medal with a mark of 7.98 m. His senior global debut followed at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and he finished 11th in his qualifying round.

Castillo cleared eight metres twice in May 2004, first with a jump of 8.03 m in Mexico City and then a personal best and Venezuelan national record of 8.34 m in Cochabamba. He travelled to Europe and competed at top level meets, including Athletissima, before going on to finish as runner-up at the 2004 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics behind Spain's Joan Lino Martínez. He made his first appearance at the Olympics at the 2004 Athens Games, where he finished eighth in his qualifier with a jump of 7.98 m but did not make the final. He represented the NAU Lumberjacks in the 2005 indoor season and broke two national indoor records, running 6.76 seconds for the 60 metres and clearing 8.00 m for the long jump.

In 2006 Castillo was found guilty of using furosemide, a banned diuretic and so-called masking agent. The sample containing the banned substance was delivered on 27 March 2006 in an out-of-competition test. He received an IAAF suspension from June 2006 to June 2008.

Following the expiration of his ban, he returned to competition in the 2009 season. He won the gold medal at the 2009 Bolivarian Games in November, jumping a season's best of 8.25 m, and also helped Venezuela's 4×100 metres relay team to a silver medal. He made few appearances in 2010, but returned to full competition the year after. He ran a 200 metres personal best of 21.22 seconds in May at the national championships, placing third in the sprint after winning the long jump title. A jump of 7.72 m brought him fourth place at the 2011 South American Championships in Athletics and a month later he represented Venezuela at the 2011 Military World Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he took the bronze medal with a clearance of 7.81 m. With the wind right on the permissible limit, he had a jump of 8.03 m at the 2011 ALBA Games – a mark which earned him the gold medal. His season came to a peak at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara as he jumped 8.05 m (his third best ever) to secure the gold medal, becoming the second Venezuelan man to win an athletics gold at the competition (following Rafael Romero's 200 m win in 1963).

This achievement did not stand however, as his drug test at the event came back positive for methylhexaneamine, a banned stimulant. His mark was erased and his medal had to be returned. Given his previous ban, a second doping infraction left Castillo to face a lifetime ban from the sport. The Venezuelan Olympic Committee president Eduardo Alvarez remarked on the situation: "We aren't sorry about the loss of the medal. We're sorry about the loss of talent of an athlete like Victor Castillo".

Personal bests

Outdoor

Indoor