Harold
Iglesias Manresa
POLISHED technique, strength in
attacking the hurdles and speed in the stretch
characterize Cuba’s best two athletes who compete in
the hurdles: Olympic champion and World record
holder Dayron Robles (12.87), and 20-year-old
Orlando Ortega.
According to coach Santiago Antúnez,
chances are good that both can reach the Olympic
finals.
"Robles, as well as Ortega, have the
odds. Of course, the work is ongoing and if they are
to do well, many elements must come together. Some
of which we still do not have defined. There is
uncertainty about our departure date for the winter
tour and if we are going to have medical staff. Add
to this that we had to change the initial training
schedule because of the timing of the Pan American
Games in Guadalajara."
"They are in excellent shape, as is
Dayron Capetillo, so our goals are ambitious. We are
in the special preparatory stage, working
intensively with hurdle exercises, the stretches,
strength and power endurance," Antúnez explained.
"Dayron – who has the second best
time ever in the 60-meter hurdles with 7.33 seconds
– is planning three races before the Indoor World
Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, March 9-11 and
given its importance, we are planning on going for
the record at the end of this first macro
competition."
"Capetillo and Orlandito should
participate in around five or six competitions, As
for Ortega specifically, his strength in the last 50
meters and his technique in approaching the hurdles
are surprising. If he continues to make progress, he
should be at around 13.20 for the Olympic final,
though with the 13.29 he’s doing now, he’s a
finalist," the coach said confidently.
SPRINTING WITH THE CHAMPION
"I’ve had to find motivation to
better my individual record, essentially because at
25 years of age, I’ve reached maturity as an athlete
and I want to maintain my level of performance. I’m
hungering for results and this season is critical,
with the World Indoor Championship and then the
Olympic Games. However, we haven’t felt the support
we’ve gotten on other occasions, along with the
shortage of restorative and other supplements needed
to recuperate after each training session. Given
these issues, the intense work can be difficult,"
said Robles, winner of the 2nd Diamond League, with
13.0 as his best time of 2011.
"Physically and mentally I’m in
optimal condition, as compared to other years. For
example, in 2010 I had gaps in my preparation and I
dominated the Indoor World Championship in Doha with
7.34, my third best time ever in the 60 meters."
That’s not all. Considered by many
as the best active hurdles racer on the planet,
Dayron has three of the 10 best times ever at that
distance - (7.33, 7.34 and 7.36), and several others
in the 100 meters (110 (12.87, 12.88 and 12.91) -
enough evidence to support his ambitions to take the
crown in the indoor competition, beating the 7.30
record established by Britain’s Colin Jackson March
6, 1994, and lowering his time outdoors.
It takes great effort and training
to produce results at the elite level, especially in
the 110-meter hurdles, a very technically demanding
event. It’s no song and dance. Cuba has confidence
in its outstanding athletes competing in this
specialty. They will find a way to show their worth,
their strength, their feline attack on the hurdles
and win medals to reward their four years of hard
work.
