Comfortable 13.14 victory for Dayron Robles in Rome (© Giancarlo Colombo)
Jamaica may have sprinters in abundance and Kenya may be dripping with top level endurance runners but Cuba has also carved out a similar reputation for its excellence in sprint hurdling over the past 20 or so years.
By Steve Landells
Article published in IAAF 2010 Yearbook - December 2010
Emilio Valle the 1992 Olympic 110m Hurdles finalist was the trailblazer followed by Erik Batte and Yoel Hernandez. The great Anier Garcia, the 2000 Olympic 110m Hurdles gold medallist, further bolstered this reputation and more latterly the current Olympic champion and World record holder Dayron Robles is the dazzling leading light of not only sprint hurdling but also Cuban athletics.
However, to find an explanation for this sustained level of success we do not necessarily need to delve into the importance of genes – although undoubtedly this plays its part. No, we simply need to look at the immense influence of one man, Santiago Antunez, the coach to this quintet of elite sprint hurdles performers.
Standing at around 5ft 6ins tall with a thick head of wiry grey hair Antunez cuts a distinctive figure. His easy grin and passion for talking make him an instantly warm and welcoming personality and there is one subject on which he likes to talk about more than any other and that is the sprint hurdles.
A former hurdler himself he moved into coaching in his early twenties, and rather than take personal credit for the development of Cuban hurdling he insists the influential sports schools in his homeland have been vital in providing him with the raw materials from which he can work.
“Our school structure introduces more people to sport and this gives us the chance to create champions in sport,” he explains. “We produce Olympic and World champions and soon this becomes normal. Our techniques are quite simple,” he insists.
Cuba had produced champion hurdlers prior to Antunez’s rise as one of the world’s leading coaches in the event.
Alejandro Casanas snared successive Olympic silver medals at the 1976 and 1980 Games and broke the world 110m Hurdles record in 1977. However, Antunez knew for sustained success it was necessary for them to look beyond their own shores in setting up a Cuban school of hurdling.
“We started by studying the American hurdlers because they were the best,” said Antunez. “We also looked at the French and the British school, which started with Colin Jackson in 1986. It was then that I realised this work takes many years.”
Valle was his first success as he landed gold in the 400m Hurdles and bronze in the 110m Hurdles at the 1986 World Junior Championships – in a race ironically won by Jackson. Batte was the next guy to follow, reaching the Olympic final in 1996 and the baton for sprint hurdling excellence was later passed to Garcia and is currently with Robles. Yet success was not achieved independently. The wily Antunez was smart enough to realise the knowledge and experience should be transferred from one hurdler to another and he did not allow petty jealousies to grow in the group.
“In sport it is all about instincts and you have to do it right, but when you have all this knowledge you must pass it on,” he said.
Batte, the 1996 Olympic finalist, backed this up and explains: “I was lucky to be in Emillo Valle’s group. He was like a God to me. I learned from him to train harder otherwise I would not have had the results.”
The sprint hurdles, though, is far more than simply nurturing talent and creating a team environment. It is a highly technical discipline in which athletes clear ten three and-a-half foot high hurdles travelling at blistering speeds. One mistake and your chances can disappear in a flash.
“You need to be a little bit crazy to do the hurdles,” Antunez adds with his trademark smile. “All events are complicated but especially the hurdles. You have seven or eight strides to the first hurdle so it is about gaining speed for the first steps. It is a race that combines power and precision. It can be dangerous if it is raining and an athlete faces the constant danger of being struck (accidentally) by another athlete.”
In a country that prides itself on its education and medical systems it is inevitable that sports science has also played its part in Anuntez’s success. A nine-year study was launched back in 2003 at a sports school in Villa Clara looking at everything from biomechanics to nutrition and although the study has not been concluded he already believes his athletes are reaping the benefits.
Yet although systems and structure are fine he emphasizes the importance of treating athletes as individuals.
“Batte was less technical than Valle,” he explains. “Hernandez was more of a moody kind of athlete while Robles has learned from a combination of factors,” he explains. “Always remember all roads lead to Rome but in different ways. You need a lot of specific work to become a champion and many roads are needed to reach this stage. My role is to lead them down the right roads to make it to Rome.”
A place you feel the impressive Antunez is well equipped to reach for many years to come.