Dayron Robles (born 19 November 1986) 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 ...

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 specialises in the

110 metre 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 hur ...

. He won his first major medal (a silver) in the 60 metres hurdles at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. He finished the 2006 season having improved his outdoor best to 13 seconds and become the

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...

champion.

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

gold came the following year in which also set a meet record of 12.92 seconds at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final – making him the joint fourth fastest ever. He reached the pinnacle of his event in 2008 by setting a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

of 12.87 seconds in June at the

Golden Spike Ostrava Golden Spike ( cz, Zlatá tretra) is an annual athletics event at the Městský Stadion in Ostrava- Vítkovice, Czech Republic as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1961. The history of the meeting was interru ...

meet, and winning an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in 12.93 seconds. Injury ruled him out for much of 2009, but he returned strongly with a championship record win at the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation ...

. He was disqualified at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 110 metres hurdles, for cheating.

Career

He won his first international medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics, taking the silver medal in the 110 m hurdles which was Cuba's only medal of the competition. At the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow he finished second with a new personal best time (indoor) of 7.46 seconds. He improved upon this time with a run of 7.33 s at the 2008 PSD Bank Meeting – this was a Panamerican record and made him the second-fastest ever indoors, behind

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a Welsh former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became wo ...

. At the 2008 World Indoor Championships in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

he didn't advance from the heats due to fact that he stopped running, thinking that fellow hurdler Liu Xiang had made a false start. This was great disappointment for Robles, who had posted nine of the 11 fastest times of the winter season and was a favorite for winning the gold medal. At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, many anticipated a Robles and Liu showdown in the final, but Liu was forced to pull out injured in the opening heat due to

tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...

. Robles went on to comfortably win the gold medal, posting a time of 12.93 s in the final. During the 2009 IAAF World Championships, Dayron Robles was forced out of the competition, not finishing his semi-final because of muscular injury. After recovering from his injury, he entered the

. The 60 metres final was the first time in over two years that Robles had faced Liu and

Terrence Trammell Terrence Trammell (born November 23, 1978) is a retired American track and field athlete who was the silver medalist for the 110 meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, and three time silver medalist for the World Championships. He w ...

in the same race. Robles began the race slowly but his power and technique saw him overhaul Trammell in the second half of the race to finish in 7.34 seconds, the third quickest time ever over the distance. The win marked a return to form and he said his first indoor gold ahead of the American was as important to him as his Olympic victory two years earlier. After a season's best run of 13.12 seconds in the rain to win at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting, he secured his first 2010 IAAF Diamond League victory at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Piet ...

with a time of 13.14 seconds, followed by a win at the

Memorial Primo Nebiolo The Memorial Primo Nebiolo is an annual track and field meeting held at the Stadio Primo Nebiolo (Turin), Stadio Primo Nebiolo in Turin, Italy in early June. History The history of the Turin competition dates back to 1963, when the Torino Meeting ...

later that month. His best run of the season (13.01) at the Athletissima meet made him the second fastest man that year behind David Oliver, but an injury curtailed yet another season. He returned to action in May 2011 and won at the Grand Prix Région Guadeloupe meet. Robles finished first in the 110m hurdles at the 2011 World Athletics Championships, with a time of 13.14 seconds. However, the result was invalidated, as replays showed Robles reaching out to impede the progress of competitor Liu Xiang, using his hand to knock Xiang's hand.

Achievements

Personal bests

*All information from IAAF Profile

Competition record

References

External links

*
IAAF "Focus on Athletes" article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robles, Dayron 1986 births Living people Cuban male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics 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 of Cuba Olympic gold medalists for Cuba Sportspeople from Guantánamo Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Diamond League winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century Cuban people