Ortega Wins 60m Hurdles in 7.49

Published by IAAF on February 3, 2016

There were no less than five world-leading marks at the Dusseldorf indoor meeting, but there is no doubt that the pick of the crop was Orlando Ortega’s brace in the 60m hurdles on Wednesday night (3). 

Ortega, a Spanish citizen since September, sped to his first world-leading time in the German city when he clocked 7.54 in his heat and, although he had to work hard in the final to hold off France’s Dimitri Bascou in the lane to his right, he was in front from the second barrier and stopped the clock in 7.49, with the 2015 European indoor silver medallist 0.03 in arrears.

No one has gone under 7.40 for the event since USA's David Oliver clocked 7.37 five years ago but this is one of Ortega’s aims this winter.

“Firstly, I want to break my personal best of 7.45, which I set last year and then I want to go as fast as possible,” said the beaming 24-year-old hurdler, who is coached by his father who has exactly the same name.