Cuba’s golden boy, hurdler Dayron Robles injured

Robles was the leading figure in the 11-member Cuban track team, which is competing in the 14th staging of the international meet from March 9 to 11.

HAVANA, Cuba, Wednesday March 7, 2012 – Cuba’s medal hopes at this Friday’s International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Indoor Championships has been dealt a blow with the pull-out of champion hurdler Dayron Robles due to injury.

Cuba’s track and field commissioner Aurelio Romero has confirmed that the Cuban Olympic champion in the 110 hurdles event suffered an injury while training and will not participate in the March 9 IAAF event in Istanbul, Turkey.

According to Romero, Robles, defending champion in the world indoors 60 meter hurdles, hit a hurdle in a training session in Spain and is suffering from pain in his lower back.

Robles was the leading figure in the 11-member Cuban track team, which is competing in the 14th staging of the international meet from March 9 to 11.

The hurdler, who is also the world outdoors record holder, opted to return to Cuba along with his trainer Santiago Antunez on the recommendation of the medical team accompanying the Cuban delegation.

This is a set-back for the hurdler and the Cuban team as with just 21 weeks left to go before the London Olympics, the IAAF indoor championships is an opportunity to compete against many of the world’s best athletes before the outdoor season starts.

However, Romero maintained that there was too little time for Robles to fully recover, therefore he returned to Havana yesterday (March 6) to heal and continue his training for the 2012 Olympic Games.

“We are in an Olympic year and we don’t want to risk him, since he is one of the best bets for us to win a gold medal at the Olympics,” stated Romero. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)