By Bill Sheehan

During winter holiday break in his native Madrid, Cal State Fullerton hurdler and sprinter Abel Jordan did a double take while competing at a local track meet.

"I ran 7.81 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles and 6.72 in the 60-meter dash. I was 100% sure that the clock was off because the times were too fast for me," said Jordan, whose previous best time in the hurdles was 7.95. "I was eager to compete at another location, just to make sure I was really running those times."

The clock, it turns out, was accurate.

In mid-January, at the Titans track and field program's first meet of the indoor season, the Dr. Martin Luther King Invitational in Albuquerque, Jordan set a school record of 7.72, adjusted to 7.74 for altitude, in winning the 60m hurdles. It was the 16th fastest collegiate time of the year.

Two weeks later, at the University of New Mexico Collegiate Classic, also in Albuquerque, he finished second in the 60m hurdles finals with another 7.72 (7.74@). Jordan also placed eighth in the 60m dash, running a career best 6.67 (6.69@) in the prelims and 6.71 (6.73@) in the finals.

"At the two New Mexico meets, I ran the same times I had in Spain. My coaches were happy; I was happy," said the sophomore, whose name is pronounced Ah-BELL YORE-dan.

In recognition of his New Mexico performances, Jordan was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men's Indoor Track Male Athlete of the Week twice in three weeks. The 20-year-old will try to keep the momentum going when the Fullerton men's and women's track and field teams compete at the MPSF Championships in Spokane, Wash., on Sunday and Monday.

Hurdlers with the top 16 times nationally qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held March 8-9 in Boston. Jordan is currently tied for 30th.but is less than a half-second from the top 16. "I'm close. It would be great if I could qualify for the nationals," he said.

Marques Barosso, the Titans track and field head coach, estimates Jordan will need to run about 7.66 at Spokane to secure a spot at the NCAA finals. "Abel has been running 7.74 consistently, and I expect his time will drop again," he said.

The 6-foot-4, 175-pound Jordan had several highlights as a freshman. He won the 60m hurdles at the MPSF indoor championships, and he qualified in the 110m hurdles for the NCAA Outdoor West Prelims.

Perhaps his most significant achievement was scoring six points with a third-place finish in the 110 hurdles at the Big West Outdoor Championships. Fullerton edged arch-rival Long Beach State by just two points to win its third straight men's team title. "It felt great to be part of the Big West championship team," he said.

Still, Jordan struggled adjusting to his new environs. "It was the first time living by myself, in a new country, with new coaches. It was a big adjustment. I had been using 39-inch-tall hurdles in high school, and I had to move up to 42-inch hurdles over here. Fullerton's training was high intensity, like in Spain, but there was less time to rest between repetitions."

Jordan also arrived at Fullerton with a pulled hamstring. "Coach Barosso wanted me to get healthy last year, so my sprints were limited to a couple 4x100 relay legs. I have a better understanding of the program this season. I have more confidence now, and I know what I can accomplish."

He has been working with a Spanish sports psychologist on Zoom twice a month to boost his performances and reduce stress. "He helps me prepare my mind-set for practices and competition. Instead of fixating on stressful issues, I'm focused on what I can control and being prepared as much as possible.

"If you want to be a good hurdler, you must have overcome fatigue in the last three hurdles. That's why it's so important to develop your endurance of movement as well your speed and technique. I'm healthy now, so I can devote more time working on all three areas."

Barosso, who is in his third year as track-and-field head coach, said Jordan seems more at ease these days. "Last year, Abel didn't speak much English, and you could see he was uncomfortable. But he's has been very patient, and he now understands our training regimen. He sees the big picture, and he's performing at a high level."

Jordan has all the tools to be an elite hurdler, said Dominique Arnold, Fullerton's assistant coach for sprints and hurdles. "Abel had to go through a learning phase. I had to get him mentally prepared for what he had to do physically. He had to let go of old habits and accept a different way of training.

"I want him to be the greatest Spanish hurdler ever. I know that's what he wants for himself. He's a smart kid, and he has been absorbing everything more quickly this year," said Arnold, who won an NCAA 110m high hurdles title at Washington State and is a former U.S. record holder.

Barosso and Arnold foresee Jordan having a breakout season in outdoor track this spring. "If you look at his heats in New Mexico, there were three All-Americans in them, and he beat those guys. His confidence went way up," said Barosso. "He'll be even better in the 110m hurdles. Abel will be the guy to beat in the conference, should be top five in the West and become an important point scorer for us."

"He's faster than he looks," Arnold said of the lanky Jordan. "Once he gets stronger in his endurance of movement, he will accomplish big things. Surprisingly, it could happen overnight."

Chris Goode, a Titans sprinter, said team members love to watch Jordan compete. "Looking at him, you wouldn't think he is a sprinter. But Abel is very analytical and smart, like an engineer. When he runs, you see the work he puts in. He is clean and smooth on the track."

"He is all business at practices and meets, and he pushes all his teammates. But off the track, he is funny and a cool dude – very laid back and relaxed," said Goode, who is a sophomore from Valencia. "And he's a very family-oriented guy. He has had me FaceTime his races so his family could watch him perform live."

Jordan's parents, Marcos and Arlene, emigrated from Cuba in 2002. He was born in Spain a year later. Marcos' mother had already been living in Spain since 1999, and Arlene's maternal grandparents were originally Spanish before immigrating to Cuba.


In 2022, Abel Jordan won the 60-meter hurdles at Spain's under-20 national championships with a time of 7.72. He started running track in fifth grade and added hurdles two years later. 

Marcos, a computer science engineer, is an executive with Italian digital company InfoCert. Arlene is a corporate marketer for a hotel. They have three other children: Lucia, 13; Rodrigo, 12; and David, 7.

"My family loves sports. My father played baseball, basketball and volleyball while growing up in the Havana area, and my mom Arlene did roller skating," said Jordan. "They believe sports is very good for social development."


"Abel Jordan is a family-oriented guy," says Fullerton teammate Chris Goode. Jordan, left, hangs out with his sister Lucia, brother David, mother Arlene, brother Rodrigo and father Marcos. 

Jordan played soccer, tennis, volleyball and swimming before switching to track and field. "At a football practice when Abel was in fifth grade, a friend told me, 'Your son is fast. He should run track.,' " Marcos said. Jordan soon joined a track club, starting with sprints and adding hurdles two years later.

"Abel always liked running from a young age. He was always one of the fastest in his physical education classes. In our neighborhood, the children raced each other, and he stood out," said Marcos.

Jordan has a disdain for distance running. "I like short races, and I found the hurdles interesting, running with obstacles on the track," said Jordan. "If there were a 200m hurdles, that would be OK. But 400 meters is too long."

He competed for multiple track clubs in Madrid and was a member of Spain's under-20 national team. In 2022, Jordan won the 60m hurdles at Spain's under-20 national championships with a time of 7.72.

"Abel is not usually a boy who likes to go out to parties but is more comfortable at home playing video games on PlayStation or watching TV," said Marcos. "He has taken the role of big brother. I think that's why he matured so quickly, because he felt he had to set an example for his younger siblings."

Jordan said his hometown of Madrid is a vibrant city that offers a mix of art, history, culture and food. "People don't earn as much as California, but the quality of life is very good. The weather is excellent, and the beach is just three hours away by train."

His father planted the idea of attending an American university. "He received good grades that could get him into a fine university. I thought it would be a good opportunity for Abel, who was already doing well in athletics at the national level. It's always a bit scary because he's still young, but we were confident in his maturity," said Marcos.

Jordan used an agency to send out his resume and competition videos to U.S. colleges. "I had the company contact all Division 1 schools in Florida and California. It's hard to train in cold weather locations," he said.

When Barosso first made contact, Jordan said was clear they both had the same mentality. "Coach B wants to make Fullerton great, and I want to make myself great. So it was, 'Let's help each other.' "

"Coach B said, 'If you come here, it will be to perform and not just to have fun.' That's what you want to hear from a coach. He and coach Arnold are real sources of knowledge. Coach Arnold knows so much about hurdling. I want to run like him," said Jordan, who hopes to represent Spain in international competition.

In his spare time, Jordan enjoys watching Formula One racing, playing video games, listening to music and solving Rubik's Cube, Sudoku and other logic-based games. A mechanical engineering major, Jordan's dream job is to work in the auto racing industry.

"When I was 3 years old, I used to get up early to watch F1 races. I was amazed how they could get the cars to go so fast around the turns. In fact, I might to become a race driver if I had pursued it at a younger age. It would be exciting to be one of those guys who build or configure racing cars. It would be awesome."

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