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On 5 March 1999, in Maebashi, Japan, Anier Garcia prepared to defend the
World Indoor 60m Hurdles title which he had won two years earlier on
his 21st birthday. On this occasion however, he finished only sixth, in
a time of 7.59sec. He fared much better in the outdoor season that
year, winning his third consecutive Cuban national championships in May
in 13.50sec, before embarking on a European campaign. In Europe, he had
a number of good results, including finishing second to Colin Jackson
(Great Britain) at Stuttgart on 6 June in 13.17sec. He improved on this
time ten days later when he finished second in a Grand Prix meet in
Athens in 13.12sec. On 30 July he was victorious at the Pan-American
Games at Winnipeg in a time of 13.17sec.
This was good preparation for
the World Championships in Seville on 25 August, where Garcia won the
silver medal, only just beaten by Jackson for the gold. Garcia's time
of 13.07sec broke his own Cuban national record that he had set in 1997.
Garcia started 2000 in fine fashion, with an extremely successful
indoor season. He set personal bests of 6.36sec for the 50m Hurdles,
and 7.37sec for the 60m Hurdles, both of which were the fastest times of
the season. The main focus that year was the Sydney Olympic Games in
September, and consequently, Garcia ensured that he peaked late in the
season. He achieved this quite well, finishing second to Jackson at
Zurich on 11 August in 13.23sec, and then winning at Monaco one week
later in 13.18sec. The Olympic final in Sydney on 25 September was
expected to be a tight competition amongst the top five hurdlers, but
Garcia won the gold medal easily (see photo above), setting another new Cuban national record of 13.00sec. (Ron Casey)
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