Héctor Cotto González (born August 8, 1984) is a Puerto Rican Olympic athlete specializing in the 110 meters hurdles.
Background Cotto was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. His family moved to Irondequoit, New York, where he attended Eastridge High School. When his family moved to Cary, North Carolina, he attended Green Hope High School and graduated in 2002.
At Green Hope High, Cotto played football, ran track and field, and earned several all-conference honors for track. His personal best for the 110 and 55 meter hurdles ranked him at 11th in the nation in 2002. As of 2015, Cotto still holds several Green Hope High School records in track.
Cotto attended Fayetteville State University, but transferred to East Carolina University after one year. While at East Carolina, he broke their records for the 60 and 110 meter hurdles.
Olympics After graduation from ECU, Cotto began his professional career representing Puerto Rico. He competed in the 110 meter hurdles in both the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the London Olympics in 2012. He also competed in the World Athletics Championships in 2007, 2009, and 2011.
Competition record Representing 2005Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsNassau, Bahamas8th110 m hurdles14.05 (w)2007NACAC ChampionshipsSan Salvador, El Salvador4th110 m hurdles13.90Pan American GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil8th110 m hurdles14.092008Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsCali, Colombia3rd110 m hurdles13.55Olympic GamesBeijing, China27th (qf)110 m hurdles13.732009Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsHavana, Cuba4th110 m hurdles13.63World ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany35th (h)110 m hurdles13.812010World Indoor ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar19th (h)60 m hurdles7.87Ibero-American ChampionshipsSan Fernando, Spain1st110 m hurdles13.54 (NR)Central American and Caribbean GamesMayagüez, Puerto Rico3rd110 m hurdles13.714th4 × 100 m relay39.182011Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsMayagüez, Puerto Rico2nd110 m hurdles13.545th4 × 100 m relay39.71World ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea20th (h)110 m hurdles13.60Pan American GamesGuadalajara, Mexico5th110 m hurdles13.492012Ibero-American ChampionshipsBarquisimeto, Venezuela2nd110 m hurdles13.69Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom42nd (h)110 m hurdles14.082013Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsMorelia, Mexico6th110 m hurdles14.252014World Indoor ChampionshipsSopot, Poland25th (h)60 m hurdles7.94Pan American Sports FestivalMexico City, Mexico10th (h)110m hurdles14.31 A (wind: -0.2 m/s)
Personal bests Cotto holds the Puerto Rican national record for 110m hurdles and the 60m hurdles. 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.”
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 medal for 110m hurdles at the Ibero-American Championships in 2010, followed by the silver medal for 110m hurdles in 2012.
In 2015, Green Hope High School inducted Cotto into the first class of their Athletic Hall of Fame.
Personal life As of 2015, Cotto coaches track & field at William G. Enloe High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He also helps train other coaches through his online Hurdle Rhythm Training Series, training workshops, and The Hurdle Magazine.
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