Orlando Ortega facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Orlando Ortega

Ortega in 2019
Personal information
Nationality	Spanish
Born	(1991-07-29) 29 July 1991 (age 33) Artemisa, Cuba
Height	1.85 m
Weight	70 kg
Sport
Country	Spain
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	110 metre hurdles
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	110 m hurdles: 12.94 s (+0.5 m/s) (Paris Saint-Denis 2015) 60 m hurdles: 7.45 s (Lódz 2015)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Spain Olympic Games Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 110 m hurdles World Championships Bronze 2019 Doha 110 m hurdles European Championships Bronze 2018 Berlin 110 m hurdles Representing  Cuba Pan American Games Bronze 2011 Guadalajara 110 m hurdles

Orlando Ortega Alejo is a famous athlete who was born in Cuba on July 29, 1991. He now competes for Spain. Orlando is a track and field star, especially known for the 110 metres hurdles race. This is a sprint where runners jump over ten hurdles.

Orlando's fastest time in the 110 metres hurdles is an amazing 12.94 seconds. He won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in this event.

Orlando's Athletic Journey

Orlando Ortega started his journey in athletics in Cuba. From 2007, he began winning national titles in hurdles for young athletes. His first coach was his grandmother, Cristina Hechavarria. She was also a great athlete, winning a gold medal in a relay race at the 1967 Pan American Games. Orlando kept all his medals at her house to remember her after she passed away.

Early Career and First Medals

In 2010, Orlando was chosen to compete at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He didn't finish his race there, but he kept working hard. In 2011, he started competing as a senior athlete. He won a race called the Barrientos Memorial with a personal best time of 13.56 seconds. Later that year, he ran even faster, achieving 13.29 seconds in Havana.

At the 2011 Pan American Games, Orlando won a bronze medal in the 110 metres hurdles. Another Cuban athlete, Dayron Robles, won the gold medal in that race.

Training and Olympic Debut

In early 2012, Orlando competed in indoor races in Europe. He finished second at the XL Galan event. He also set a new personal best in the 60 metres hurdles with a time of 7.57 seconds. He almost made it to the final at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Orlando then began training with a famous hurdles coach, Santiago Antúnez. He trained alongside Dayron Robles, and even beat him in a race in Havana. He improved his 110 metres hurdles time to 13.09 seconds, becoming one of Cuba's fastest hurdlers ever. He finished sixth in the 110m hurdles final at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Competing for Spain

During the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Orlando made a big decision. He decided to leave Cuba and later started competing for Spain in September 2013. At first, there were rules that meant he couldn't compete for Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics. However, the rules were changed, and he was allowed to go.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Orlando won a fantastic silver medal in the 110m hurdles. He finished just behind Omar McLeod.

Recent Achievements

Orlando continued to achieve great things. He won a bronze medal at the 2018 European Athletics Championships.

At the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Orlando was doing very well in the final. He was in second place when another runner, Omar McLeod, stumbled and accidentally bumped into him. This made Orlando lose his speed. After an appeal by the Spanish team, the athletics organization decided to award Orlando a bronze medal because of the unfair incident.

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Cuba
2011	Pan American Games	Guadalajara, Mexico	3rd	110 m hurdles	13.30
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	6th	110 m hurdles	13.26 (s)
	World Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	9th (s)	60 m hurdles	7.71
2013	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	25th (h)	110 m hurdles	13.69
Representing  Spain
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2nd	110 m hurdles	13.17
2017	European Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	7th	60 m hurdles	7.64
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	7th	110 m hurdles	13.37
2018	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	3rd	110 m hurdles	13.34
2019	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	4th	60 m hurdles	7.64
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	3rd	110 m hurdles	13.30
2024	European Championships	Rome, Italy	13th (sf)	110 m hurdles	13.64

Track records

As of September 14, 2024, Orlando Ortega holds the following track records for the 110 metres hurdles:

See also

In Spanish: Orlando Ortega para niños