• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 06 / 01 / 2011

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By Phil Minshull, Special to Universal Sports. OSTRAVA -- It's difficult to describe the 110m world record holder as the forgotten man of his event and, to be fair to Liu Xiang and David Oliver, Dayron Robles may have been out of sight for a long time over the last two years but he was probably never out of their particular minds.

However, the Cuban has definitely bobbed back onto the radar screens of athletics fans at-large in the last few days.

Robles equalled the 2011 world-lead of 13.07, clocked on home soil in Shanghai by the 2004 Olympic Games champion Liu, in the Dutch town of Hengelo on Sunday and then returned to Ostrava on Tuesday night.

The Czech city is, of course, the place where he set the current world record of 12.87 three years ago.

He didn't go under 13 seconds this time, as he's hoped beforehand; his tired legs after crossing half of Europe were struggling to snap over the final three barriers quite as effectively as they had done for two-thirds of the race but he did clock a swift 13.14.

It has been an impressive return to form after injuries curtailed the Beijing gold medallists seasons both last summer and this winter.

However, sadly, Robles will not be on the start line along side Liu and Oliver - his two most likely rivals at this stage in the season for a World Championships gold medal later in the summer - at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on Saturday, despite his desire to be there.

"I think we could have a great show, like Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell do when they run together, I would like people to look at the hurdles and think about the same sort of things with us. I would like to be in Eugene but I cannot," Robles told Universal Sports rather wistfully on Tuesday night.

At the risk of being called a shoddy journalist, I decided not to pursue the matter any further about why he couldn't be there.

It's a sensitive subject.

However, one thing is for sure, Robles is not in Eugene because he is ducking Liu and Oliver.

Several possible reasons for his absence spring to mind, and none of them are conducive to helping bring to reality the Diamond League mission statement of more top.-notch head-to-head clashes in the sport.

Firstly, Robles is clad head-to-foot in one particular sportswear manufacturer's apparel and Pre is sponsored and directly controlled by its direct rival. The idea that Robles could cross the line first and beat their own boys to the line is distinctly unappealing to the organisers in Eugene.

Robles was the unwitting victim of a fairly similar manoeuvre 12 months ago when he was on his way to the Diamond League race in Shanghai but the meeting organisers there pulled his invitation at the last minute fearing he was going to embarrass a slightly-banged up Liu.

In the end, Oliver still beat China's big hero in his own backyard.

Nevertheless, as U.S. hurdler Terrance Trammell acknowledged, Robles is back and big time news again.

The erudite Trammell is an astute observer of his event and has the credentials to back up his opinions after twice being World Indoor 60m hurdles champion and a two-time Olympic medallist.

He finished third behind Robles in Ostrava in a season's best of 13.30.

"It's difficult to put together two back-to-back races of real high quality. This event is all about tempo and rhythm and those are two facets that are very difficult to maintain. Dayron's now done that here and in Hengelo so he's got to be considered to be in good shape," Trammell told Universal Sports.

Yes, hurdles aficionados, Dayron Robles has not left the building.

Source: www.universalsports.com/news-blogs/blogs/blog=blockheadblog/postid=53551...