Alberto Juantorena facts for kids

Juantorena winning the 800 m final at the 1976 Olympics
Quick facts for kids Personal information
Full name	Alberto Juantorena Danger
Nickname(s)	El Caballo El elegante de las pistas
Born	(1950-12-03) 3 December 1950 (age 74) Santiago de Cuba
Height	190 cm
Weight	84 kg
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	400 m, 800 m
Coached by	Zygmunt Zabierzowski
Retired	1984
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 m – 44.26 (1976) 800 m – 1:43.44 (1977)
Medal record Representing  Cuba Olympic Games Gold 1976 Montreal 400 m Gold 1976 Montreal 800 m Pan American Games Silver 1975 Mexico City 400 m Silver 1975 Mexico City 4×400 m Silver 1979 San Juan 400 m Silver 1979 San Juan 800 m Bronze 1979 San Juan 4×400 m Central American and Caribbean Games Gold 1974 Santo Domingo 400 m Gold 1978 Medellín 400 m Gold 1978 Medellín 800 m Gold 1982 Havana 800 m Central American and Caribbean Championships Gold 1973 Maracaibo 400 m Gold 1981 Santo Domingo 800 m Silver 1977 Ponce 400 m Summer Universiade Gold 1973 Moscow 400 m Gold 1977 Sofia 800 m Friendship Games Gold 1984 Moscow 800 m Representing Americas IAAF World Cup Gold 1977 Düsseldorf 400 m Gold 1977 Düsseldorf 800 m Bronze 1977 Düsseldorf 4×400 m
Updated on 6 June 2015.

Alberto Juantorena (born 3 December 1950) is a famous former runner from Cuba. He is the only athlete ever to win both the 400 meter and 800 meter races at the same Olympic Games. He achieved this amazing feat in 1976. Experts ranked him as the world's best in the 400 m from 1974 to 1978. He was also top in the 800 m in 1976 and 1977. Because of his success, he was named the Track & Field News Athlete of the Year in both 1976 and 1977.

Alberto Juantorena's Running Journey

How Alberto Started in Sports

When Alberto Juantorena was 14, he was very tall, about 188 cm (6 ft 2 in). People first thought he would be a great basketball player. He even went to a special state basketball school and played for the national team. But Alberto also ran in high school. He was a champion in the 800 and 1500 meter races in his region.

A Polish running coach named Zygmunt Zabierzowski saw Alberto's talent for running. He convinced Alberto to focus on track and field. Alberto was happy to change because he felt he wasn't a very good basketball player. His hero was a Cuban sprinter named Enrique Figuerola. Just one year later, Alberto competed in the 400 meter race at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He almost made it to the final, missing by only 0.05 seconds.

Alberto continued to improve. He won a gold medal in the 400 meters at the 1973 World University Games. He also earned a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games in the same event. He was unbeatable in 1973 and 1974. However, he had two operations on his foot in 1975. He only started running the 800 meters seriously in 1976. So, not many people expected him to win an Olympic gold medal that year. His coach, Zabierzowski, even tricked him into trying an 800 m race. He told Alberto that other runners needed someone to set the pace.

Winning Gold at the 1976 Olympics

Alberto Juantorena made it to the 800 meter Olympic final. He led the race for most of the way. He won the gold medal and set a new world record time of 1:43.50. He was the first athlete who didn't speak English to win Olympic gold in this race.

Just three days later, he also won the 400 meter final. He set a new world record for low-altitude races with a time of 44.26 seconds. By winning both the 400 meters and 800 meters, he became the first athlete since Paul Pilgrim in 1906 to win both races at an Olympic sports event. He is still the only man to do this at an officially recognized Olympics.

Alberto's Career After the Olympics

In 1977, Alberto set another world record in the 800 meters. He ran 1:43.44 in Sofia at the World University Games. He also won both the 400 m and 800 m races at the 1977 IAAF World Cup. The 400 m race was a bit controversial. It was re-run a day after the first race. Alberto had finished third in the first race. He successfully argued that he couldn't hear the starting gun. The re-run race was an exciting competition with his rival, Mike Boit from Kenya. This was a race that couldn't happen at the previous year's Olympics because many African countries boycotted the games.

Alberto Juantorena became known in Cuba as El Caballo, which means the horse. He continued his running career. However, injuries meant he could never quite reach the same high level he had in Montreal. Alberto was born with flat feet, which caused problems with his feet and back. He had surgery to fix this in 1977. In 1978, he was unbeatable in the 400 m. But he lost an 800 meter race for the first time ever.

Injuries, especially to his hamstring, made it hard for him to train and race before the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He just missed out on a medal in the 400 meters, finishing fourth.

At the 1983 World Championships, which was his last big international event, he broke his foot and tore ligaments. This happened when he stepped on the inside of the track after qualifying in the first round of the 800 m. He started training again, hoping to compete in the 1984 Summer Olympics. But the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott meant he couldn't compete there. Instead, he took part in the Friendship Games. These were alternative games for countries from the Eastern bloc. He shared the gold medal in the 800 m with Ryszard Ostrowski.

Juantorena at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics

Life After Running

After he stopped competing in athletics in 1984, Alberto Juantorena took on many important roles. He served as the Vice President of the National Institute for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation for Cuba. He was also the Vice Minister for Sport of Cuba. He became the vice-president, and later Senior Vice-president, of the Cuban Olympic Committee. He is a member of the World Athletics Council. He has also led the Athletes' Commission and been a member of the Grand Prix Commission.

Alberto's Family Life

Alberto Juantorena first married in 1972 to Yria, who used to be a gymnast. They had two children together. He married two more times before meeting his current wife, Yolanda. She works for Cubana de Aviación, an airline. In total, Alberto has seven children. His nephew, Osmany Juantorena, is a professional volleyball player. In 2021, a documentary film called Running for the Revolution was made about Alberto Juantorena.

International Competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Cuba
1972	Olympic Games	Munich, West Germany	11th (sf)	400 m	46.07
1973	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Maracaibo, Venezuela	1st	400 m	46.4
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:10.1
	Universiade	Moscow, Soviet Union	1st	400 m	45.36
1974	Central American and Caribbean Games	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	1st	400 m	45.52
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:06.36
1975	Pan American Games	Mexico City, Mexico	2nd	400 m	44.80
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.82
1976	Olympic Games	Montreal, Canada	1st	400 m	44.26
			1st	800 m	1:43.50 (WR)
			7th	4 × 400 m relay	3:03.81
1977	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Xalapa, Mexico	2nd	400 m	45.67
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:09.24
	Universiade	Sofia, Bulgaria	1st	800 m	1:43.44 (WR)
	World Cup	Düsseldorf, West Germany	1st	400 m	45.361
			1st	800 m	1:44.041
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.771
1978	Central American and Caribbean Games	Medellín, Colombia	1st	400 m	44.27
			1st	800 m	1:47.23
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:05.57
1979	Pan American Games	San Juan, Puerto Rico	2nd	400 m	45.24
			2nd	800 m	1:46.4
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:06.3
1980	Olympic Games	Moscow, Soviet Union	4th	400 m	45.09
1981	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	1st	800 m	1:47.59
1982	Central American and Caribbean Games	Havana, Cuba	1st	800 m	1:45.15
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:03.59
1983	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	28th (h)	800 m	1:48.402
1984	Friendship Games	Moscow, Soviet Union	1st	800 m	1:45.68
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:04.76

¹Representing the Americas
²Did not start in the semifinals

See Also

In Spanish: Alberto Juantorena para niños

• A Step Away – Official Documentary of the 1979 Pan American Games.