World record lean - 12.87 for Dayron Robles in Ostrava (© graf.cz)
21yearold Dayron Robles of Cuba who dethroned arch rival Liu Xiang of China as the World record holder for 110m Hurdles** when sprinting to a superb 12.87 last week in the IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Ostrava is convinced that his mark may well be bettered before the end of the year.
Speaking from his training base in Madrid, Robles also considers that not only himself and Liu are strong candidates to win one of the most coveted Olympic titles in Beijing but also whoever qualifies at next week’s US Olympic Trials.
Five potential winners
“The 110m Hurdles are at such a high level that any athlete could surprise us at any time during the season and break the record as I did last week.
“I have nothing to lose. I will continue my programme towards the Olympics. We still have a calendar, a lot of races coming up. And I will continue to do my best in the next few races. Anything can happen. Not only from me, from other athletes too.
“The sprint hurdles is a very complicated event. I believe that at least five guys will be in a position to win gold in Beijing. Obviously Liu Xiang is the top favourite, because of all the titles he's won. He’s lost the World record but he continues to be the main guy to beat.
“Among the five athletes, any of the three Americans will be very dangerous in the Olympic final. There's a lot of respect for the American hurdlers, as well as for myself and for Liu Xiang. So I believe whoever will represent the United States in Beijing will be very hard to beat.”
Just one week after the historical performance which made him become the third Cuban to currently hold an Athletics World record, Robles reflected on the circumstances surrounding his achievement.
“Sincerely I’m still confused. I wasn’t ready to run such a fast time at this time of the year. I can say that I even smile to myself by how fast this World record has arrived in the season.
“It was impressive. I felt it really was a good race from the tenth hurdle to the finish line. And when you see the race and you see my face…I reacted normally when I first saw the clock. The time was 12.88 so I was really happy with the fact that I broke my national record. But then when it was adjusted to 12.87, I literally drove myself crazy, running on the track and trying to explode of joy.
Changing speed
“I prepared to have a really good start, just to jump out of the blocks and attack the first hurdle. I was focused to run a fast race on that day, ideally under 13 seconds. So I really took every hurdle very seriously. I ran strong over every single hurdle and I believe that’s maybe why I ran such a great time.
“From the first to the tenth hurdle I just focused on changing speed. With each hurdle I tried to move faster than the previous one. It’s all I had in mind and I tried to just run faster than the previous hurdle. That’s basically what I did during the race.”
Learning from Valencia
Robles’ World record was probably expected by a number of aficionados especially since the 1.92m tall Cuban had come so close to breaking Colin Jackson’s World Indoor standard this winter. Unfortunately Robles ended a superb indoor campaign on a sad note as he failed to qualify for the semi-finals following a beginner’s mistake in Valencia’s World Indoor Championships.
“I learned many things from Valencia. I learned that every race needs a very good, if not a perfect concentration. Even if it’s an easy race, you have to take every race as a World record race.
“And as my coach said, I’m not a judge. So I cannot decide. I have to simply run the race and take every single race as a very important one.
“Honestly I could have broken the World indoor record and when that did not happen we did not change the plan. We started with this programme on 20 October for both the indoor and outdoor season. We have kept to the plan and we will continue to do so during the summer season. So I will continue this work with my coach, my physiotherapist, my psychologist as well as my doctor. We are a team of four, very qualified people who are joining me for this goal.”
Olympic final set to be magic moment
Robles’ ultimate goal of the season will indeed be the men’s 110m Hurdles Olympic final which will be held in Beijing’s 'Bird’s Nest' on Thursday 21 August.
“Four yours ago when Liu Xiang won the Olympic in Athens, I was watching the race from home, just after running at the World Junior Championships. And I told myself, well if I get a chance to run the Olympics in Beijing, I’m pretty sure this guy will be very very hard to beat. I never thought I will certainly be where I am now, in just three, four years.
“I know Liu Xiang will be supported by a large number of people, the entire Chinese population. But I will try to attract that crowd, just try to turn the crowd in favour of Liu Xiang also to get to support me.
“When you’re the World record holder then somebody else breaks your record, it’s certainly a concern. And it says that of course your rivals are in good shape. So I believe that maybe Liu Xiang will have to reflect on that and maybe something has to be changed. He’s certainly aware that his strongest rivals for Beijing are in good shape, not only myself but also the American guys and anyone who makes it to the Olympic final.”
Positive Rivalry
Unlike Robles who in addition to the four competitions he’s already taken part in this summer is scheduled to compete in 6 more meetings before heading towards China, Liu Xiang has only run so far in a couple of meets and holds a season's best of 13.18 sec.
“I would love to see Liu Xiang more often on the circuit,” explained Robles. “He's such a great athlete and I love competing with him. Every single race that we have had, it’s been a good race. So obviously he's someone who you look forward to having on the track because you know it’s going to be a good race.”
Congratulations aplenty
“I haven’t had any direct contact with Liu Xiang. We have a Chinese friend who sent congratulations on his behalf. And he also congratulated me on a website in China. Allen Johnson sent his congratulations through his manager. And Terrence Trammell was also running on that day in Ostrava. So he was one of the first men to congratulate me on that day in Ostrava.”
Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF
**subject to usual ratification procedures
