Beijing Olympic Hurdle Champion Dayron Robles Making His Comeback with Eyes on London

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

Dayron Robles is now stranger to top flight 110-meter hurdle races. The Cuban was Olympic champion in 2008, the same year he set the then world record of 12.87.

However, Robles has fallen on hard times in recent years. He missed the Rio Olympics with an injury and he was forced to pull up in the 2012 Olympic final due to a tight hamstring.

Now 30-years old, Robles is working his way back into form according to a report from SuperSport. He ran 13.66 in Havana last week. He still has some work to do to reach the 13.48 standard necessary to be chosen for the Cuban team that will compete in the IAAF World Championships in London.

"I'm savoring each step, each movement, each training session and this pleasure can help me get into good shape and realize many things," Robles told SuperSport.

Robles served a suspension with the Cuban federation from 2013-15 over a conflict with federation officials. He temporarily retired and then requested to run again for a Monaco athletics club.

However, Robles has never considered giving up his Cuban affiliation as others have done in recent years. Pedro Pichardo abandoned Cuba recently while taking part in a training camp in Europe. The triple jumper has since resurfaced in Portugal.

Orlando Ortega, another 110-meter hurdler, also changed allegiances. He won an Olympic silver medal for Spain last year in Rio.

Robles' next race is Saturday in Marseille, France.