Alberto Juantorena

Alberto Juantorena Danger ( born November 21, 1950 in Santiago de Cuba / Cuba ) is a Cuban former track athlete. He won 1976 Olympic gold in the 400m and 800m.

Life

Juantorena began his sports career as a basketball player and was convinced of the Polish Athletics coach Zygmunt Zabierzowski of his talent as a runner. One year after the running exercise he participated in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, however, different from the semi-finals. His first international success was the gold medal at the Universiade in 1973, the Pan American Games 1975 each over 400 m. At the Olympics, he started on the 800 m, and won in world record time. This was three days before he was also winner of his special discipline of 400 m. In 1977, he repeated the IAAF World Cup in Dusseldorf this historic double victory. With a size of 1.92 m and a weight of 84 kg Juantorena was also the largest and heaviest 800 -meter Olympic champion so far. Due to its bulky shape and its smooth running style, he was given the nickname El Caballo ( the horse ).

Juantorena continued his career until 1984, but was injured never reach the performance level of 1976/77. He scored at the Olympic Games in Moscow on the 400 m once a 4th place and said goodbye at the competitions of friendship, which were held in competition with the Soviet bloc boycotted the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, with a win over 800 m of the competition stage.

Alberto Juantorena was then 1984 Vice Minister of Sports in Cuba. In 1986 he became vice - president of the Cuban Olympic Committee and Vice - President of the Latin American UNESCO. He is since 1995 a member of the Government Committee for Physical Education and Sport and in 1995 was the Technical Delegate at the 5th IAAF World Championships in Gothenburg. Since 1997 Juantorena is a senior vice president of the Olympic Committee of Cuba.

2012 Juantorena was included in the IAAF Hall of Fame.

Particularity

Among the most difficult achievements in athletics is to deny the 400 m and 800 m counts. 400 -m runs are regarded as sprints, while the 800 m are to count already at the medium range. Juantorena belonged to the exception runners who denied both routes at the Olympic Games. He won in 1976 only first and so far (2012 ) Olympian gold in both the 400m and 800m at the Games in Montreal.