ORTEGA Orlando

General
MOVE TO CYPRUS
After failing to win a medal at the 2019 European Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, he left Spain and the coaching of his father to move to Cyprus to train under Antonis Giannoulakis. "It was a significant change on both a personal and professional level, but it was a decision I felt I had to make. After a four-year stint with my father, I needed new motivation and to be part of a training group again, which was something I missed. I am very happy with the change, I feel calmer and more comfortable." (rfea.es, 27 Dec 2019; marca.com, 17 May 2019)

SHARED WORLD BRONZE
He was awarded a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, after World Athletics ruled he had been obstructed when Jamaican Omar McLeod fell in the lane next to him. Ortega was on course for a podium finish at the time and finished fifth after McLeod fell. An initial appeal was rejected, but World Athletics reconsidered the case and accepted the appeal, agreeing to award Ortega a bronze medal. The athlete who originally finished third, Frenchman Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, was allowed to keep his bronze medal. (reuters.com, 03 Oct 2019; marca.com, 03 Oct 2019; espn.com, 04 Oct 2019)

FROM CUBA TO SPAIN
He previously represented Cuba at international level, including at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, but decided not to return to the country following the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russian Federation, over a dispute with the island's sports authorities. He moved to Spain and began representing the country in 2016. "It was an extremely difficult and tough decision, but I made it and I won't look back. I had been coming to Spain since 2011 for camps with the Cuban team in Guadalajara. It is a country that I love and the language is favourable." (apnews.com, 27 Aug 2013; elconfidencial.com, 05 Mar 2016; martinoticias.com, 06 Aug 2015)