Dayron Robles: the reinvention of a Cuban Olympic champion

March 11, 2020

He doesn't need much introduction. Suffice it to say that Dayron Robles is part of the tiny percentage of humanity that can say he is an Olympic champion or that he held a world record in his specialty, the 110m hurdles.

Beloved by many, he was not only an exceptional athlete, but he also exuded a sense of modernity that was lacking in most Cuban athletes.

Others didn't understand him and even publicly castigated him, supported by sports issues such as the fact that he was not a world champion in the outdoor competition, and by a disqualification that has taken on a mythological character among fans: the incident at a championship with one of his great rivals, in the final competition.

His break with the Cuban Athletics Federation also floats in memory, which led him to spend several years outside the country running for European clubs. Nevertheless, he was also one of the pioneers when it came to returning to compete representing our flag, as a sign of the infinite love he feels for Cuba, as he says publicly, in any context.

But life continues beyond the tracks. After retirement, Dayron became an entrepreneur, something very common in the rest of the world, but which doesn't have as many precedents in Cuba.

After a long period of media silence, Robles spoke with Play Off Magazine about his most recent project, the restaurant La Escondida Habana, about his personal and sports life, his dreams and the legends that were written around a Cuban Olympic champion.