Alberto JUANTORENA

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Cuba

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Photo/Foto: George Herringshaw

Date: 25 July 1976

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- DATE OF BIRTH
  Sunday, 03 December 1950
- PLACE OF BIRTH
  Santiago, Cuba

INTERNATIONAL
Cuba
- Event(s)
  400m, 800m, 4x400m
- Championship Performances
  Olympics: 1976 Gold 400m, Gold 800m.

Alberto JUANTORENA - Cuba - Double Olympic Champion in Montreal 1976.

The athletics world could easily have never witnessed the brilliance of Cuban running legend Alberto Juantorena. Young Alberto's first sporting love was basketball, but in 1971 he decided to try athletics as an alternative, moving to Havana where he came under the tutelage of Polish coach, Zygmunt Zabierzowski. Within a few months he had recorded a time of 48.2sec for 400m, and his progress was so rapid that he finished fifth in his 400m semi-final at the following year's Olympic Games in Munich. He first starting making headlines in 1973 when he won the 400m at the World University Games in Moscow, and the following year he headed the world rankings, with a time of 44.7sec recorded at Turin on 24 July. In 1975, he produced the second-fastest time of the year, 44.80sec, when he finished second at the Pan-American Games in Mexico City on 18 August.

Two days later, he anchored the Cuban 4 x 400m relay team to a silver medal at the same championships. In 1976, Juantorena decided to attempt the unusual double of the 400m and 800m at the Montreal Olympic Games. Although he was a definite gold medal chance for the 400m, few thought that he would seriously challenge the main contenders in the 800m. Juantorena had only seriously decided to contest the 800m that year, setting times of 1min 46.9sec and 1min 46.1sec early in the year in Cuba, and then an impressive 1min 45.2sec in Italy just prior to the Olympics. In the 800m final at Montreal, on 25 July, Juantorena quickly established the lead, reaching 400m in 50.85sec. At 600m, Juantorena was briefly challenged, but he then just powered away from his opposition, winning the gold medal easily (see photo above), in a new world record time of 1min 43.50sec. (Ron Casey)

Alberto Juantorena arrived at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as a gold medal contender in the 400m. However, before the 400m had been contested, Alberto had unexpectedly won the 800m in a world record time. If that was what he could do in an event in which he was not favoured, there was no end of speculation as to what he might accomplish in his principal event, and Juantorena certainly didn't disappoint in the 400m final held on 29 July. Fred Newhouse (USA) set the early pace, and led past 300m, but the long-striding Juantorena ran him down in the straight to win in 44.26sec, the fastest ever 400m run at low-altitude. The 400m/800m double is a combination of events rarely attempted, and Juantorena's dual victories were unique in Olympic history. Not unnaturally, he became the hero of Montreal, and the favourite of the crowds (see photo above). Image by G.H. 29th. July 1976 ©

In 1977, Juantorena further reduced the 800m world record, setting a new time of 1min 43.4 sec at Sofia on 21 August. Mike Boit (Kenya) had set the fastest time in the world over 800m in 1975, and the second fastest, behind Juantorena's world record in 1976. However, Boit had been denied a chance to compete at the Montreal Olympic Games due to a Kenyan boycott, and a showdown between he and Juantorena was eagerly anticipated. Their encounter at the 1977 World Cup at Dusseldorf on 2 September is considered to be one of the greatest confrontations in athletic history. Juantorena led by 3 metres at 600m, but Boit moved to his shoulder on the home turn. The two great champions battled side by side all the way down the home straight, before Juantorena's strength grabbed him the closest of victories right at the end. (Ron Casey)

In 1978, Alberto Juantorena continued the form which had seen him win a unique 400m/800m double at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, and then repeat the same double at the 1977 World Cup in Dusseldorf. Juantorena performed this double again in 1978 at the Central American and Caribbean Games held in Medellin. Although his winning 800m time at Medellin was a relatively slow 1min 47.23sec, his 400m time of 44.27sec was the second fastest 400m ever recorded at low altitude, just 0.01sec behind the fastest time also set by Juantorena when he won the 1976 Olympic 400m title. Juantorena's fastest 800m time of the year was 1min 44.38sec that he recorded at Cologne, which ranked him 4th on the 1978 world's list. The following years were disappointing for Alberto, and he was plagued by frequent injuries.

In 1979, his best time for 800m was only 1min 46.4sec, ranking him 23rd in the world. In 1980, in a cautious return from injury, he chose to only compete over 400m, with the sheer strength of his competitive spirit helping him to a 4th place finish in the Olympic 400m final in Moscow on 30 July. His best 800m time in 1981 was only 1min 46.0sec, but he improved this to 1min 45.15sec when retaining his Central American and Caribbean Games title in Havana on 11 August the following year, and then to 1min 45.14sec at Havana in early 1983, raising some hopes of a return to past glory at the inaugural World Championships to be held in Helsinki later that year. Sadly, in Helsinki, Alberto (see photo above by G.H. on 7th August ©) stepped on the trackside as he qualified in the first round of the 800m on August 7 and broke a bone in his right ankle, which effectively brought an end to his athletics career. (Ron Casey)