Orlando Ortega Alejo (born 29 July 1991) is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n-born

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who competes in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hu ...

. His personal best for the event is 12.94 seconds and he was the silver medallist at the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

Career

Ortega gradually rose through Cuba's ranks from 2007 onwards, taking youth and junior national titles in the hurdles. Ortega's grandmother and his first coach was Cristina Hechavarria, a 4 × 100 meter relay gold medalist at the

Athletics at the 1967 Pan American Games The athletics competition at the 1967 Pan American Games was held at Pan American Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table Participating nations ReferencesGBR Athletics {{Events at ...

. She died when Ortega was young, and in memory of her kept all his medals at her house. He was chosen to compete at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, but did not finish his heat. In his first year of senior competition in 2011, he established himself nationally with a win at the Barrientos Memorial meeting, winning with a personal best of 13.56 seconds. He improved further at a meeting in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

running a time of 13.29 seconds.Ortega, Orlando
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-06-10. He was one hundredth of a second off his best in the final at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

and claimed the bronze medal while fellow Cuban

Dayron Robles Dayron Robles (born 19 November 1986) is a Cuban track and field athlete who specialises in the 110 metre hurdles. He won his first major medal (a silver) in the 60 metres hurdles at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. He finished the 2006 sea ...

took the title. He competed on the European indoor circuit in early 2012; the highlight of the season was a second-place finish at the XL Galan and a 60 metres hurdles best of 7.57 seconds in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. He narrowly missed out on making the final at the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of fou ...

, coming fifth in his heat. He began training under hurdles coach Santiago Antúnez, alongside Dayron Robles, and defeated his partner for the first time in Havana in May, improving his 110 m hurdles time to 13.09 seconds to become the third fastest Cuban ever in the event. He came third at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York in June. He came in sixth in the final 110m hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was studying a degree in physical education in Cuba. During the 2013 World Championships in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, he defected from Cuba and has competed for Spain since September 2013. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruled he was not allowed to represent Spain officially until November 2016 — three full years after he officially became a Spanish resident – so he originally wasn't able to take part at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Eventually he was allowed to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics and took home a silver medal in the 110m hurdles behind Omar McLeod. Ortega won the bronze medal at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburgh hosting the diving events and Gleneagles ...

. At the 2019 World Championships, Ortega qualified for the final, but finished 5th after Omar McLeod stumbled into him and arrested his momentum. Ortega was in second place until the incident. After an appeal by the Spanish Federation, the IAAF awarded him with a bronze medal.

Competition record

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega, Orlando Living people 1991 births Cuban male hurdlers Naturalised citizens of Spain Spanish male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Cuba Olympic athletes for Spain Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Olympic silver medalists for Spain Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Defecting sportspeople of Cuba Cuban emigrants to Spain World Athletics Championships athletes for Spain World Athletics Championships athletes for Cuba Olympic male hurdlers European Championships (multi-sport event) bronze medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Diamond League winners Spanish Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games People from Artemisa Sportspeople from Artemisa Province