Talk about saving the best for last…

Caterine Ibargüen claimed the silver medal in the women’s triple jump at the 2012 Olympic Games with a 14.80 meter jump on her last attempt in the finals on Sunday at the London Games.

The 28-year-old Colombian track star—who won the bronze at last year’s world championships in Daegu, South Korea—had maintained the second place position most of the night before pre-Olympics favorite Olha Saladuha of Ukraine pushed past her on her last jump of 14.79 meters.

Not to be outdone, Ibargüen went one centimeter better than Saladuha in her last attempt to reclaim second place and push Saladuha into the bronze medal position.

Kazakhstan’s Olga Rypakova—who had claimed the silver at last year’s world championships—claimed the gold with a leap of 14.98 meters.

Ibarguen— who began her athletic career 12 years ago and convinced her paternal grandmother and legal guardian to take her to Medellin at age 14 to train, helped give Colombia its first medal in track & field in 20 years. By taking home the silver, she improved on Ximena Restrepo’s bronze medal performance at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.