Rome, Italy – Rain features in hundreds of well-known songs, from the Gene Kelly classic ‘Singing In The Rain’ to The Cult’s obviously-named homage to the wet stuff ‘Rain’, but absolutely none of them are on Dayron Robles’ well-used mp3 player.

“This summer has been so frustrating, I have been in such good form and everywhere I go there has been so much rain, it’s been raining and raining where ever I have gone. I feel persecuted,” joked the 23-year-old Cuban, who holds the men’s 110m Hurdles world record with 12.87.

“So I’m very happy to be here and I am so pleased that the weather is good, I’m praying for a dry track,” added Robles, speaking in Rome where tomorrow night (10) he will compete in the Golden Gala, the fourth leg of the inaugural IAAF Diamond League.

His words and plea for a bit of sun on his back were delivered in the Italian capital with a sincerity that went far beyond the usual nice words for the meeting organisers and local public.

>> Read the full story on the IAAF Diamond League Website <<