Omar Cisneros Bonora (born 19 November 1989) 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 who competes in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

. He is the Cuban national record holder for the event with his personal best of 47.99 seconds. He won

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 ...

s in the hurdles and

4×400 metres relay A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pro ...

at 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 ...

in 2011. Cisneros represented Cuba at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

at the age of eighteen and competed at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

in 2009 and 2011, and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He has also won gold medals with the Cuban relay team at the

Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships was an international track and field athletics event organised by the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC), held once every two years from 1967 to 2013. Only athlet ...

Early life

Born in

Nuevitas Nuevitas is a municipality and port town in the Camagüey Province of Cuba. The large bay was sighted by Christopher Columbus and crew during their first voyage of exploration in 1492. History Founded in 1775 during the time of the Spanish Empire ...

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...

, Cisneros is one of three children. His mother is a chemical engineer and his father, Omar Cisneros snr, was also a 400 m runner. His father encouraged him to take up athletics, but Cisneros originally wanted to play baseball. He took part in the 2004 National School Games and then the 2005 National Junior Championships. In 2006 he won his first medal at the National Junior Championships in the 400 m hurdles. At the end of that year, he joined the National Junior team under coach Ricardo Molina who still coached him in 2012.

Career

Cisneros made his first international appearances in 2007. He began his career competing both the hurdles and the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

sprint. After ran a personal best time of 46.05 seconds for the flat race at a local meeting in March, he won the national junior title in the event. He won two titles at the 2007 ALBA Games, running a national junior record of 49.57 seconds to win the 400 m hurdles before going on to help the Cuban

team take a second

. He was chosen for the Cuban squad at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

and managed to reach the semi-finals of the 400 m, although the relay team were disqualified in the heats.Omar Cisneros
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2011-11-03. He decided to focus solely on the 400 m flat in 2008 and dipped under 46 seconds (45.98) to take 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 ...

at the

2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships The 2008 in athletics (track and field), 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Pedro Grajales in Cali, Colombia between 4–6 July 2008 in athletics (track and field), 2008. A total of 44 events we ...

. A team comprising William Collazo,

Yunier Pérez Yunier Pérez Romero (born February 16, 1985, in San José de las Lajas) is a Cuban track and field athlete, who specializes in sprinting events. He won gold medals with the Cuban relay team at the 2008 Central American and Caribbean Champions ...

, Cisneros and

Yeimer López Yeimer López García (born August 28, 1982, in Buey Arriba, Granma) is a middle-distance runner from Cuba, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2004. He is best known for winning the gold medal ...

also won the relay

and their time of 3:02.10 minutes meant the team had achieved the Olympic qualifying time. Cisneros won another gold with the relay team at the

2008 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics The 2008 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (''Spanish: XIII Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo''), was an athletics competition which was held at the Estadio Tierra de Campeones in Iquique, Chile from June 13 to the 15th. A total of f ...

and went on to make his Olympic debut at the age of eighteen at the 2008 Beijing Games, where he ran a split of 44.36 seconds in the heats.Omar Cisneros
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2011-11-03. A personal best of 45.76 seconds for the 400 m opened Cisneros' 2009 season, but it was at this point that he began to focus more on the 400 m hurdling event. He ran a personal best of 49.49 seconds to win the gold at the 2009 ALBA Games and also helped defend Cuba's relay title. At the

Barrientos Memorial The Barrientos Memorial () is an annual track and field meeting in Havana, Cuba each May. The event was first held in 1946, in recognition of José Barrientos (a former Cuban Olympic sprinter), who died in an aviation accident the previous year. ...

he improved his best by almost half a second, running a time of 48.87 seconds to become the second Cuban under 49 seconds after

Yacnier Luis Yacnier Luis González (born 24 January 1982) is a Cuban hurdler. He competed in the men's 400 metres hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded a ...

. He was a little short of this form at July's

2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 2009 in athletics (track and field), 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships (Spanish: ''XXII Campeonato CAC Atletismo'') was the twenty second edition of the tournament and was held between 3 and 7 July in Havana, Cuba. Event summar ...

, where he finished in fourth place, but he did win a consecutive relay gold medal for Cuba at the competition. He made his individual global debut at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

and came fifth in his 400 m hurdles semi-final, clocking a time of 49.21 seconds.Cisneros Omar

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2011-11-03. With no major competitions scheduled for 2010, he made his debut on the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

circuit, coming fifth at the Doha meeting. He won gold medals at the

2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics The 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (Spanish: ''XIV Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') was an athletics competition which was held at the Estadio Municipal Bahía Sur in San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain from 4–6 June. A total o ...

both the hurdles and relay events. That July in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuban record held by Yacnier Luis with a run of 48.29 seconds. Two weeks later, the 20-year-old went even faster with a time of 48.21 seconds. In the first half of 2011 he won the Barrientos Memorial and two European meets in

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

and

Celle Ligure Celle Ligure () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about west of Genoa and about northeast of Savona. It borders the comuni of: Albisola Superiore, Stella, and Varazze. It is one of ...

. Cisneros represented Cuba in the hurdles at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

, but was some way off his best form and finished last in his semi-final with a run of 50.10 seconds. In spite of this modest season, the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

in October in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

saw Cisneros reach a new career peak. He won his hurdles heat with a time of 48.99 seconds – his fastest run away from Cuban soil. Although he entered the competition with a hope of reaching the top three, he dominated the final with a national and Pan American Games record run of 47.99 seconds, finishing almost a second ahead of the minor medalists

Isa Phillips Isa Phillips (born 22 April 1984) is a Jamaican hurdling athlete who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. The Kingston native made his international debut at the 2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics, finishing sixth in the 400 ...

and Félix Sánchez. The time made him the fifth fastest hurdler in the world that year. He ended the competition with a second victory in the 4×400 m relay and the time of 2:59.43 minutes set by a team of Noel Ruíz,

Yoandri Betanzos Yoandri (or ''Yoandris'') Betanzos Francis (born February 15, 1982, in Santiago de Cuba) is a Cuban athlete competing in the triple jump. Early life and career They say, he was almost born on the track: His mother, Cuban sprinter Amarailis Fr ...

, Cisneros and Collazo was the fastest by a Cuban quartet since the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, where the country won Olympic silver.Robinson, Javier Clavelo (2011-10-29)
Robles 13.10, Borges 5.80m and Ibarguen 14.92m in Guadalajara - Pan American Games, Day 6

. Retrieved on 2011-11-03. At the 2012 Olympics, he competed in both the 400 m hurdles and the 4 × 400 m relay team. He finished 4th in the 400 m hurdles at the 2013 World Championships.

Personal bests

*200 m: 21.36 s (wind: -0.1 m/s) –

La Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

, 2 September 2012 *400 m hurdles: 47.93 s NR –

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, 13 August 2013

Achievements

¹: Did not finish in the final.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cisneros, Omar Living people 1989 births Athletes from Camagüey Cuban male hurdlers Cuban male sprinters Olympic athletes for Cuba Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games