Anier Garcia in action in Linz (© Leener Manhart)
Sydney Olympic 110m Hurdles champion Anier Garcia heads the 12-member Cuban squad for the 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, which begin this Friday 14 March in Birmingham, UK.
Garcia, who turned 27 last Sunday (9 March), aims to improve his second place from Lisbon 2001 and recapture the World Indoor title which he took in Paris '97. After three wins on his European tour - Lievin, Karlsruhe and Linz and a season best of 7.47 – he is the third fastest hurdler this winter.
The world's no.1 sprint hurdler last year will face strong opposition from the current World champions, USA's Terrence Trammell (indoor) and Allen Johnson (outdoor), as well as Great Britain's World record holder Colin Jackson, who will end his successful 19-year career on home soil.
”I perform better at 110m, but after a good winter tour I am confident I can medal in Birmingham”, said Garcia from Guadalajara, Spain, where the Cuban team is training.
Also in the 60m Hurdles is Yoel Hernandez, 2001 Worlds Edmonton (fourth) and Lisbon (fifth) finalist, who has clocked 7.57 this winter, while in the women’s event, Yahumara Neyra defeated Spain's Sydney Olympic runner-up Glory Alozie in Athens last week, with a season's best of 8.00 seconds.
Three-time Olympian Yoelbi Quesada will aim for a good outing in the Triple Jump, an event with clear favourites for the three podium spots: Great Britain's World and Olympic champion Jonathan Edwards, Sweden's European Championships gold medallist Christian Olsson, and USA's Tim Rusan, the World’s number one performer this winter with a 17,45-meter leap.
At 29, Quesada is the most decorated Cuban triple jumper, with the 1997 World outdoor title in Athens, the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the silver in the1995 World Indoors, and the national outdoor record (17.85). But after a 17.42 best last year, he has only reached 16.76 this winter.
Olympic finalists Yumileidi Cumbá (Shot Put) and Luis Felipe Meliz (Long Jump) should also be strong contenders in their respective events.
Cumbá in her past World Indoor outings was sixth in Maebashi '99 and fifth in Lisbon ‘01, while Meliz will debut in these championships with a 8.09 best in 2003.
Sprinter Freddy Mayola (6.60 this year) a Sydney Olympic relay bronze medallist, has a good race start, and placed fourth in Maebashi'99.
Cuba has taken part in all the World Indoor Championships since their inception in Indianapolis (1987). The island also participated in the World Indoor Games in Paris (1985).
It has also been the most successful Latin American country in the World Indoors, with 25 medals (13 gold, seven silver and five bronze). It has achieved at least one medal in every edition, and the best result dates back to Paris'97, where they won three gold and two silver medals.
Ivan Pedroso, with five titles, and Javier Sotomayor, who won four gold medals, have been the most heralded athletes.
Of the total, only three medals have been won by women: Liliana Allen and Aliuska Lopez, today representing Mexico and Spain, respectively.
Two years ago in Lisbon, the country achieved a gold (Pedroso) and a silver (Garcia) to finish ninth in the medal tally.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
Cuba's performance in the World Indoors:
1987 Indianapolis (0-1-0) Silver: Roberto Hernández (400)
1989 Budapest (2-1-1) Gold: Andres Simón (60) & Javier Sotomayor (HJ)
Silver: Jorge Reyna (TJ) Bronze: Juan M. Lopez (TJ)
1991 Seville (0-1-3) Silver: Jaime Jefferson (LJ) Bronze: Sotomayor (HJ), Liliana Allen (60), Aliuska Lopez (60 H).
1993 Toronto (2-0-1) Gold: Sotomayor (HJ), Iván Pedroso (LJ) Bronze: Jaime Jefferson (LJ)
1995 Barcelona (3-1-0) Gold: Sotomayor (HJ), Iván Pedroso (LJ), Aliuska Lopez (60H) Silver: Yoelbi Quesada (TJ)
1997 Paris (3-2-0) Gold: Anier García (60 H), Pedroso (LJ), Joel García (TJ) Silver: Aliecer Urrutia (TJ), Iván García (200)
1999 Maebashi (2-0-0) Gold: Sotomayor (HJ), Iván Pedroso (LJ)
2001 Lisbon (1-1-0) Gold: Iván Pedroso (LJ) Silver: Anier García (60H)
Cuban team for Birmingham
Men
1. Anier García 60m Hurdles
2. Yoel Hernández 60m Hurdles
3. Luis Felipe Meliz Long Jump
4. Yoelmis Pacheco Long Jump
5. Yoelbi Quesada Triple Jump
6. Freddy Mayola 60m
Women
1. Yahumara Neyra 60m Hurdles
2. Dainelky Pérez 60m Hurdles
3. Virgen Benavides 60m
4. Roxana Díaz 200m
5. Olga Lidia Cepero Triple Jump
6. Yumileidi Cumbá Shot Put
