Robles will no longer compete for Cuba

FORMER Olympic hurdles champion Dayron Robles confirmed on Thursday he no longer wants to compete for his native Cuba.

Robles said he is through running for Cuba but offered no other details in a brief telephone interview.

"Yes it's true, I asked to be removed," Robles said, referring to the national team.

Just over a week ago, Robles said he would sit out the 2013 season because he was upset about his treatment from Cuban officials, who he says have not taken care of him. Robles won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He held the world record of 12.87 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.

"The guy does not want to continue competing," said Jorge Luis Sanchez, the head of the Cuban Commission for track and field, told newspaper Juventud Rebelde.

Robles' withdrawal from the Cuban team was spelled out in an article in Juventud Rebelde entitled: "The Way Without Robles."

The article, which seemed to prepare the Cuban public for Robles' departure, said that "Cuban sport suffered a painful loss of a true Lord who for a long time, and forever, put the name of Cuba in gold letters. Nobody - not followers nor detractors - can forget this."

Robles, 26, has not made it clear why he does not want compete for Cuba, nor has he talked in public about his future.

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