Anier Octavio García Ortiz (born March 9, 1976) is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete, winner of the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. Born in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, Anier García established his credentials early, by winning the 1995 Pan American Junior Championships. In the next year, at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, García was eliminated in the quarter-finals. In 1997, García broke to the international scene by winning 60 m hurdles at the 1997 World Indoor Championships at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, he competed with a leg injury, and although he finished second in his quarter-final, he withdrew from the semi-finals. In 1999, García won the

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, but was beaten second by

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became w ...

at the

. The high peak of García's career was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The Olympic final was expected to be a tight competition amongst the top five hurdlers, but García won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

easily, beating Terrence Trammell by 0.16 seconds. García repeated his

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at the 2001 World Championships and also won silver at the 2001 World Indoor Championships and 2003 World Indoor Championships. García did not compete at the 2003 World Championships due to a thigh injury, but at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, he won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

Personal bests

Achievements

As of 20 November 2024, García holds twelve track records for the 110 metres hurdles set over the period 1996 to 2002. They include the track records for

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

(13.34),

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

(13.22) and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

(13.17).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Anier Living people 1976 births Athletes from Santiago de Cuba Cuban male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Olympic athletes for Cuba Olympic gold medalists for Cuba Olympic bronze medalists for Cuba World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Competitors at the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games FISU World University Games silver medalists for Cuba World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Cuban Athletics Championships winners