Cuban hurdler Robles won't defend title in Turkey

HAVANA - Cuba's hurdling champion Dayron Robles won't defend his title in the upcoming World Athletics Indoor Championships in the Turkish city of Istanbul later this month, a top sports official confirmed on Monday.

Dayron Robles of Cuba competes in the 60 meter hurdles event at the XL Galan indoor athletics meeting in Stockholm, Feb 23, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

Aurelio Romero, Cuba's national commissioner for top sports events, said Robles would rest and prepare for the 2012 London Olympics instead in order not to risk suffering any injury.

"We are in the Olympic year and we don't want to put Dayron's participation into jeopardy because he is one of the Cuban gold medal hopes," said Romero.

Romero said Robles, who holds the current world record of 12.87 seconds in the 110 meters hurdles discipline and won gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had recently suffered a muscle contraction in his lower back after clashing with a hurdle during a training session in Spain.

"Robles is suffering from pain and we don't want to put him at risk because it could develop into a more serious lesion," he told the official Radio Habana, adding this was the main reason the Cuba's Athletics Federation (FCA) decided not to send him to Turkey.

Robles, who had been Cuba's main star on the 11-athlete team scheduled to attend the Istanbul games, was originally scheduled to defend his title from the 2010 world games in Doha, Qatar in the 60 meters discipline where his best time is 7.33 seconds.