Dayron Robles
SportRunning
Event110 metres hurdles
Birth date19 November 1986 (age 39)[1]
Birth placeGuantánamo, Cuba[1]
Height1.91 m[1][2]
Weight89 kg[2]
NationalityCuba
Pb110 m hurdles: 12.87 s (Ostrava 2008)

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 season having improved his outdoor best to 13 seconds and become the Central American and Caribbean Games champion. Pan American 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 of 12.87 seconds in June at the Golden Spike Ostrava meet,[3][4] 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. He was disqualified at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 110 metres hurdles, for violation of rule 163.2, obstruction.

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.[5] At the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow he finished second with a new personal best time (indoor) of 7.46 seconds.[6][7] 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.[8]

At the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia 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.[9]

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.[10] Robles went on to comfortably win the gold medal, posting a time of 12.93 s in the final.[11]

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 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships. The 60 metres final was the first time in over two years that Robles had faced Liu and Terrence Trammell 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.[12]

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 with a time of 13.14 seconds,[13] followed by a win at the Memorial Primo Nebiolo later that month.[14] 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.[15]

Robles finished first in the 110 m 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.[16][17]

Achievements

Personal bests

EventTime (seconds)VenueDate
50 meters hurdles6.39Stockholm, Sweden21 February 2008
60 metres hurdles7.33Düsseldorf, Germany8 February 2008
110 metres hurdles12.87Ostrava, Czech Republic12 June 2008
  • All information from IAAF Profile[18]

Competition record

Representing
2003World Youth ChampionshipsSherbrooke, Canada6th110 m hurdles (91.4 cm)13.91
2004World Junior ChampionshipsGrosseto, Italy2nd110 m hurdles13.77 (wind: -0.6 m/s)
2005Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsNassau, Bahamas2nd110 m hurdles13.41 w (wind: +2.6 m/s)
2006World Indoor ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia2nd60 m hurdles7.46 s PB
Central American and Caribbean GamesCartagena, Colombia1st110 m hurdles13.12 s CR
2007Panamerican GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil1st110 m hurdles13.25 s
World Championships in AthleticsOsaka, Japan4th110 m hurdles13.15 s
IAAF World Athletics FinalStuttgart, Germany1st110 m hurdles12.92 s CR
2008Golden Spike MeetOstrava, Czech Republic1st110 m hurdles12.87 s WR
Olympic GamesBeijing, PR China1st110 m hurdles12.93 s
2009Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsHavana, Cuba1st110 m hurdles13.18 w (wind: +2.5 m/s)
2010World Indoor ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar1st60 m hurdles7.34
20112011 World Championships in AthleticsDaegu, South Korea—110 m hurdlesDQ
Pan American GamesGuadalajara, Mexico1st110 m hurdles13.10
2012Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom—110 m hurdlesDNF

Track records

As of 7 September 2024, Robles holds the following track records for 110 metres hurdles.

LocationTimeWindspeed
m/s		DateNotes
Alcalá de Henares13.28+0.224/06/2006
Beijing12.93+0.121/08/2008
Cáceres13.34–0.728/06/2006
Cartagena13.12+0.726/07/2006
Dubnica nad Váhom12.95–1.707/09/2008
Guadalajara13.10+1.628/10/2011
Linz13.05–1.211/09/2007
Ostrava12.87+0.912/06/2008This was the world record for 4 years 3 months
and remains the Cuban record.
Reims13.09–0.430/06/2010
Paris12.88+0.518/07/2008
Sotteville-lès-Rouen13.18+1.808/07/2013
Stockholm12.91+0.222/07/2008
Tangier13.28NOT KNOWN12/07/2009
Turin13.08+1.212/06/2010
Villeneuve d'Ascq12.96–0.627/06/2008

References

  1. ^ "Dayron Robles". Olympedia. OlyMADmen. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. ^ López JL, Padullés JM, Olsson HJ (2011). "Biomechanical analysis and functional assessment of D. Robles, world record holder and Olympic champion in 110 m hurdles". Portuguese Journal of Sport Sciences
  3. ^ "Dayron ROBLES | Profile | World Athletics"
  4. ^ Dillman, Lisa (2008-06-13). "Dayron Robles sets world high hurdles record". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  5. ^ Clavelo, Javier (2008-02-28). Focus on Athletes – Dayron Robles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-17.
  6. ^ "World Indoor Championship Results". The America's Intelligence Wire. 2006-03-11. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  7. ^ "Liu Xiang to meet Robles in World Champs". Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  8. ^ Gordon, Ed (2008-02-09). Robles faster still – 7.33 in Düsseldorf. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-12.
  9. ^ "Robles' elimination a disappointment for all hurdlers". Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  10. ^ Frederik Balfour (August 18, 2008). "China Olympic Hero Liu Xiang Quits Games". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on August 9, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  11. ^ "Merritt of U.S., Cuba's Robles capture track gold". Archived August 10, 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  12. ^ Arcoleo, Laura (2010-03-14). Doha 2010 – Robles grabs first World gold in style. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-17.
  13. ^ 2010 IDL Golden Gala Results. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-06-14.
  14. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2010-06-13). Kaki scorches 1:43.48, Robles improves to 13.08 in Turin. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-06-14.
  15. ^ Robinson, Javier Clavelo (2011-05-08). Robles debuts with 13.35 victory in rainy Guadeloupe. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-13.
  16. ^ Wong, Justeen. "Being Cuban cost me gold medal". Archived from the original on 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
  17. ^ "IAAF.org Day 3 Results". IAAF. 2011. Archived from the original on September 15, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  18. ^ "Robles, Dayron biography". IAAF. Retrieved 2009-03-03.