Héctor Cotto

Héctor Cotto González (born August 8, 1984) is a Puerto Rican Olympic athlete specializing in the 110 meters hurdles.[1]

Héctor Cotto
Personal information
Full nameHéctor Cotto González
NationalityPuerto Rican
Born (1984-08-08) 8 August 1984
Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight86 kg (190 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)110 m hurdles
Updated on 23 January 2015.

Background

Cotto was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. His family moved to Irondequoit, New York, where he attended East Ridge Senior High School.[2] When his family moved to Cary, North Carolina, he attended Green Hope High School and graduated in 2002.[2][3]

At Green Hope High, Cotto played football, ran track and field, and earned several all-conference honors for track.[4][3] His personal best for the 110 and 55 meter hurdles ranked him at 11th in the nation in 2002.[2] As of 2015, Cotto still holds several Green Hope High School records in track.[4]

Cotto attended Fayetteville State University, but transferred to East Carolina University after one year.[2][4] While at ECU, he broke their records for the 60 and 110 meter hurdles.[4][2]

Olympics

After graduation from ECU, Cotto began his professional career representing Puerto Rico.[5] He competed in the 110 meter hurdles in both the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the London Olympics in 2012.[4] He also competed in the World Athletics Championships in 2007, 2009, and 2011.[2]

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Puerto Rico
2005 Central American and Caribbean Championships Nassau, Bahamas 8th 110 m hurdles 14.05 (w)
2007 NACAC Championships San Salvador, El Salvador 4th 110 m hurdles 13.90
Pan American Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 8th 110 m hurdles 14.09
2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships Cali, Colombia 3rd 110 m hurdles 13.55
Olympic Games Beijing, China 27th (qf) 110 m hurdles 13.73
2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships Havana, Cuba 4th 110 m hurdles 13.63
World Championships Berlin, Germany 35th (h) 110 m hurdles 13.81
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 19th (h) 60 m hurdles 7.87
Ibero-American Championships San Fernando, Spain 1st 110 m hurdles 13.54 (NR)
Central American and Caribbean Games Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 3rd 110 m hurdles 13.71
4th 4 × 100 m relay 39.18
2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 2nd 110 m hurdles 13.54
5th 4 × 100 m relay 39.71
World Championships Daegu, South Korea 20th (h) 110 m hurdles 13.60
Pan American Games Guadalajara, Mexico 5th 110 m hurdles 13.49
2012 Ibero-American Championships Barquisimeto, Venezuela 2nd 110 m hurdles 13.69
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 42nd (h) 110 m hurdles 14.08
2013 Central American and Caribbean Championships Morelia, Mexico 6th 110 m hurdles 14.25
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 25th (h) 60 m hurdles 7.94
Pan American Sports Festival Mexico City, Mexico 10th (h) 110m hurdles 14.31 A (wind: -0.2 m/s)

Personal bests

Cotto holds the Puerto Rican national record for 110m hurdles and the 60m hurdles.[2] Of hurdling, he says, "Running is the easy part. To me it’s always been about the technique. The ultimate goal is to be so efficient over the hurdles that you can let loose and just run when you race. That’s when hurdling is fun. That’s what all the hard work is for.”[2]

Outdoors

  • 100m 10.37 (+1.4 m/s) (Walnut 2010)
  • 110m hurdles 13.49 (+1.6 m/s) (Guadalajara 2011)

Indoors

  • 60m hurdles 7.71 (Flagstaff 2014)

Awards and honors

Cotto won the gold metal for 110m hurdles at the Ibero-American Championships in 2010, followed by the silver metal for 110m. hurdles in 2012.[3][2]

In 2015, Green Hope High School inducted Cotto into the first class of their Sports Hall of Fame.[4][3]

Personal life

As of 2015, Cotto coaches track & field at William G. Enloe High School in Raleigh, North Carolina.[1][6][7] He also helps train other coaches through his online Hurdle Rhythm Training Series, training workshops, and The Hurdle Magazine.[8][9]

References

  1. Hector Cotto, East Carolina Pirates, retrieved January 23, 2015
  2. "Hector Cotto". Hurdles First. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  3. Blake, J. Mike (October 7, 2005). "Green Hope's First HOF Class Ready for Induction". The News and Observer. p. B1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Post Card from Green Hope HOF Night". The News and Observer. October 9, 2015. p. B6. Retrieved January 28, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Green Hope High grad competes at Olympics — WCPSS Blog".
  6. Biography - COTTO Hector, PASO, retrieved January 23, 2015
  7. Héctor Cotto (in Spanish), COPUR, retrieved January 23, 2015
  8. "Author: Hector Cotto". SimpliFaster. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  9. "The Hurdle Magazine". The Hurdle Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-29.


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