12 Facts About Javier Sotomayor

Javier Sotomayor was born in Limonar, Matanzas Province on 13 October 1967.

Javier Sotomayor was not able to go to Los Angeles for the 1984 Olympics due to the boycott by Cuba.

Javier Sotomayor missed much of the 1990 outdoor season after surgery to remove scar tissue in his knee and heel.

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Javier Sotomayor won the high jump on the basis of his ability to jump "clean" at the highest height.

Javier Sotomayor had a good start to 1996 during the indoor season, but was plagued by injury during the outdoor season.

Javier Sotomayor underwent treatment for knee and heel injuries after his poor showing in the Atlanta Olympics and skipped the 1997 indoor season.

Javier Sotomayor began training in Puerto Rico in spring 1997 for the outdoor season, but Cuban sports officials announced on 30 May 1997 that although Sotomayor was "in good form", he was withdrawing from the season's first big meet in Toronto and would instead make his season debut the following week at a track meet in France.

Javier Sotomayor won the gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games, held in Winnipeg.

In 1999 Javier Sotomayor was a national celebrity, a well-known anti-drug crusader and the pride of Cuba's sports system.

Javier Sotomayor was allowed to participate in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney despite his two-year drug suspension from 1999.

Javier Sotomayor tested positive for cocaine at the 1999 Pan American Games, which Cuban president Fidel Castro claimed was a set-up by the Cuban-American Mafia.

In September 2001, Javier Sotomayor announced that he would end his career, following another positive drug test during a training camp in June, this time for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.