Dayron Robles after his 12.92 in Stuttgart (© Getty Images)
Welcome to the 12second club! Dayron Robles had taken these words from his friend Allen Johnson to sum up his impressive Central American and Caribbean 110m Hurdles record of 12.92 to win the 5th IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final.
At 20, the 1.90m prospect has run faster than anyone of his age in history, just four hundredth of a second off China's World and Olympic champion Liu Xiang's World record.
Now writing from Shanghai , where he is due to make his Chinese debut a showdown with Liu, the Cuban found some time off to write to us in his September online diary for the IAAF.
"Dear IAAF friends,
Greetings once again, this time from China. As you may imagine, I am living one of the happiest moments of my live, following the 12.92 win at the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart.
This German city is magic. I have been there three times and every time I raced there I have improved my personal bests, outdoors at the World Athletics Final and indoors in February.
I knew I was in really good shape, but I was yet to turn it into a sub 13-second clocking. I am really surprised to see how fast I have run being a 20-year-old.
Only three men have run faster and it feels great to be one of the 11 athletes who have broken the 13-second barrier. This time leaves me a good taste towards 2008 with my Olympic debut in sight.
The life of an athlete is about ups and downs. I learnt a lot from the disappointment of Osaka. I was in excellent shape there but the pressure literally killed me.”
Robles arrived in the Japanese city as a serious medal contender and challenger of Liu for the gold, but he failed to reach the podium with a fourth place.
“I felt so bad when I got fourth. It was terrible. The worst I've ever felt. But I've learnt a lot from it. I knew I could medal in Osaka and added too much pressure to myself. I could not cope with it as a 20-year-old.
The world championships are held every two years and the Osaka experience will help me in the next major events.
I don't want to look for an excuse for my performance in Osaka. But I could not race for more than three weeks after the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
I felt I had lost my rhythm a bit, especially after a hard-fought semifinal win. After Osaka I could compete more and started to gain my best shape. I enjoyed winning two more Golden League events in Zurich and Brussels .
That was my first visit to the Belgian capital and I also posted two fine times in Linz (13.05) and Dubnica nad Vahom (13.07). I knew I was ready for another good race in Stuttgart.
I would like to see the World Athletics Final race more times to savour the win again. I couldn't help jumping on the Stuttgart track. Some of my team-mates like (2007 Triple Jump world champion) Yargelis Savigne and Cuban team manager and High Jump World record holder Javier Sotomayor were some of the first to congratulate me.
My coach Santiago Antunez watched the race from our European base near Madrid in Spain. I called to congratulate him, too. This achievement is his, too.
After a long season, I had a great time dancing and singing in Stuttgart with some of the world's best athletes and in a different atmosphere.
Two days later I arrived in Shanghai for the final race of the season. I have done 24 110m races this year, plus some 10 races indoors. I was welcomed at the airport by two young Chinese journalists who I met in Europe last year.
They have taught me a few words in Chinese like hi and thanks. It's very difficult, but I manage to at least speak two words.
It feels great to be here and it gives me the opportunity to see China one year before the Olympic Games. It will be the fourth clash with Liu Xiang this summer, but I just think of doing another good race and ending the season on a high note.
USA's Ryan Wilson, Anwar Moore and Allen Johnson will also be top rivals.
Apart from my competitive commitments, I would like to tour Shanghai. I plan to arrive home on October 1 and will fly to my hometown of Guantanamo to see my mother and the rest of the family. I have been in touch with them via email and phone, but I haven’t seen them in nearly two months.
After 3-4 weeks of rest, we'll resume training for the World Indoor Championships in Valencia.
That's all for now. I will write next time from my holidays in Cuba. Nos vemos (See you).”
Dayron
