Athletes

Dayron Robles's profile has grown hugely since he broke the world 110m hurdling record, and went on the take gold at the Beijing Olympics.

What is it with the hurdles and men in glasses? For a decade between 1977 and 1987, the bespectacled legend Ed Moses bestrode the world of 400m hurdles, winning 122 consecutive races. Moses became one of the most recognised – and recognisable – athletes in the world. Dayron Robles was barely a year old when Moses’ epic run of victories came to an end, and for a young man growing up in Guantanamo, on Cuba’s eastern tip, the razzamatazz of the Olympic Games and the world athletics circuit must have seemed remote.

Yet come 2008 and Beijing, Robles was lining up at an Olympic final of his own and continuing the great tradition, gold-rimmed specs perched on his nose, medallions around his neck and fire in his feet. He won, of course.

Cuba may be best-known for its boxers, but Robles is the island’s second 110m hurdles champion of the last three Games – his mentor Anier Garcia won in Sydney – and Robles’s victory played out against one of the most gripping storylines in Beijing.

He was expected to contest the gold with China’s emblematic Lui Xiang, yet Xiang limped away dramatically before the heats were completed. In truth, momentum was with Robles anyway. Earlier in the season he had taken Xiang’s world record with a run of 12.87 in Ostrava, whilst Xiang had been dogged with injury for months.

Robles emerged from Cuba’s national sports schools system, and first made his mark with a silver medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships. He rose steadily from there, finishing second at the 2006 World Indoor Championships, first in the 2007 Pan American Games and then fourth, behind Xiang, at the World Championships in Osaka.

He kicked on again in the winter indoor season early in 2008, recording some blistering times and emerging as Xiang’s major rival. By the time the World Indoor Championships came around, Robles had posted nine of the fastest 11 times of the season yet he failed to progress from the heats after he stopped running, thinking that Xiang had made a false start. Xiang went on to take the title, but it was Robles who took fitness and form into the summer season.

After breaking Xiang’s world record, the writing was on the wall, and whilst a fully fit Xiang may have pushed Robles hard, the Cuban has a strong claim to say that he would have won gold anyway. Should Xiang shake off his injury, the rivalry could run right through to 2012.

Interview

Q You were born in Guantanemo. What was life like growing up there?

A I had a normal life. My family was very poor but modest. My mother was a housewife and my father was a musician, he played the saxophone.

Q Who did you get your athletic talent from – your mother or your father?

A My mother was an athlete, she was a volleyball player.

Q Your father was a musician. Do you have a strong interest in music, too?

A I don’t play anything, but I like to listen to music hip-hop and jazz music. I listen to lots of rap but I don’t have a favourite artist.

Q Did you play any other sports when you were young?

A Basketball, swimming, volleyball, taekwondo and wrestling. But once I did athletics aged ten that was the only sport for me. I still enjoy watching basketball today and I am a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Q Any other interests outside of athletics?

A I want to develop more as a person and one day speak perfect English. I also want to be more involved in social projects.

Q You have a beautiful hurdling style, does that come naturally or is it something you have had to work at?

A I’ve always been very talented but there is a lot of hard work involved.

Q What is the story behind wearing the big medallion?

A The one I am wearing now is gift from my aunt, which is someone I admire dearly. It is St Caridad, it’s significant because it is a religious medallion. I run with various medallions, though, not just one.

Q Have you always raced wearing glasses?

A I feel my confident with my glasses rather than contact lenses. It’s a sprint race and sometimes contact lenses interfere with my vision.

Q How did you celebrate winning your Olympic gold medal?

A I didn’t celebrate so much in Beijing because I had to go to Zurich the next week. Guantanemo was fantastic, they received me at the airport and I had a hero’s welcome. The whole town was waiting for me in Guantanemo.

Q What are your future aims in the sport?

A I will try to run the 110m hurdles under 13 seconds as much as possible. It is not easy, but that is my goal.

Q What car do you drive?

A Because of the import ban on cars from the US since the 1960s I drive a 1957 Chevrolet.