Dayron Robles, 13.06sec in Monaco (© Freelance)
Olympic 110m Hurdles champion Dayron Robles hopes that the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham will be a stepping stone to success at next month’s World Indoor Championships in Doha.
The Cuban hurdler, who last competed in Birmingham in 2007 with a second place finish in the 60m Hurdles, will compete at the National Indoor Arena on 20 February at the penultimate competition of the nine-meeting IAAF Indoor Permit series.
He said, “It’s really exciting to be competing in the UK at the Aviva Grand Prix – the Brits always really get in to the sport from the sidelines and provide a lot of support. It gives me the chance to compete against some of the best in the world so to go there and get a good result would be fantastic.”
Robles is looking to make up for the disappointment of the 2008 World Indoor Championships where as the world leader in the event he was the favourite to win only to crash out in the heats. The then 21-year-old had stopped running after wrongly thinking the athlete in the lane next to him had jumped the gun. However, he bounced back with a vengeance later that year, first with a 12.87 World record in Ostrava, Czech Republic, before taking Olympic gold in Beijing.
He has already started 2010 in emphatic style, winning in Dusseldorf on Tuesday evening with a 7.50 performance, currently the joint second fastest time in the world this year. His second appearance of the year comes this evening (6) in Stuttgart and he is also on the slate for Stockholm on Wednesday (10).
“It’s important for me to get as many races in as possible before heading out to Doha for the World Indoor Championships,” Robles said. “After my result in 2008 I want to make sure that I perform to the best to my ability and get a good time on the board. It’s a great place to line up against some of the best in the world and fight it out on the track.”
Organisers for the IAAF
The Cuban hurdler, who last competed in Birmingham in 2007 with a second place finish in the 60m Hurdles, will compete at the National Indoor Arena on 20 February at the penultimate competition of the nine-meeting IAAF Indoor Permit series.
He said, “It’s really exciting to be competing in the UK at the Aviva Grand Prix – the Brits always really get in to the sport from the sidelines and provide a lot of support. It gives me the chance to compete against some of the best in the world so to go there and get a good result would be fantastic.”
Robles is looking to make up for the disappointment of the 2008 World Indoor Championships where as the world leader in the event he was the favourite to win only to crash out in the heats. The then 21-year-old had stopped running after wrongly thinking the athlete in the lane next to him had jumped the gun. However, he bounced back with a vengeance later that year, first with a 12.87 World record in Ostrava, Czech Republic, before taking Olympic gold in Beijing.
He has already started 2010 in emphatic style, winning in Dusseldorf on Tuesday evening with a 7.50 performance, currently the joint second fastest time in the world this year. His second appearance of the year comes this evening (6) in Stuttgart and he is also on the slate for Stockholm on Wednesday (10).
“It’s important for me to get as many races in as possible before heading out to Doha for the World Indoor Championships,” Robles said. “After my result in 2008 I want to make sure that I perform to the best to my ability and get a good time on the board. It’s a great place to line up against some of the best in the world and fight it out on the track.”
Organisers for the IAAF
