Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Announces Flaquer As Sprints Coach
August 01, 2013 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Aug. 1, 2013
STILLWATER -
Oklahoma State track and field has announced the hire of Diego Flaquer as the new sprints coach.
“I'm really excited to be at Oklahoma State,” Flaquer said. “I can bring my experience coaching sprinters in the SEC, and the understanding of what it takes to recruit at this level. Whether it's a distance school or a sprint school, it's still track and field. Oklahoma State has success in distance—the national titles show that, but what attracted me is the commitment to the track and field side. We want to build a well-rounded program, and that starts with facilities. Going to see the new track and state-of-the-art training rooms was exciting to me. These are things that are very attractive to sprinters. This is a gold mine, and we can really get some things going. I'm ready to get started.”
Flaquer comes from Auburn, where he spent three years as an assistant coach and one as a graduate assistant, primarily responsible for the horizontal jumpers. He also assisted Auburn head coach Ralph Spry with the sprinters, including the outdoor 4 x 100 relay, which took third at both the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“I really like Diego's energy,” OSU coach Dave Smith said. “He is passionate about track and field, and it's in his blood. His father was a respected Colombian coach and Olympian. He's been in track and field his whole life. I think he has a great vision for what our sprints program can be, and he is a tireless worker with great ambition. He lives and breathes track and field, and now he lives and breathes OSU track and field.”
In 2011, Flaquer was as an assistant coach with the Colombian National Team during the Junior Pan-American Games in Miramar, Fla. Flaquer worked specifically with the sprinters and jumpers. Under his coaching, Colombia brought home three gold medals and one silver.
Prior to his second stint at Auburn, Flaquer coached sprinters and hurdlers at Samford, leading the Bulldogs to third–place finishes at both the indoor and outdoor championships for the 2009-10 season.
Flaquer coached at Troy University in 2008, where he coached Sun Belt Conference long jump champion O'Darien Bassett. Bassett went on to win the Mideast Region with a school-record jump of 7.94m, and he would go on to finish 10th at the 2008 USA Olympic Trials with a jump of 7.89m.
In 2006, Flaquer was the head sprints and jumps coach at his alma mater, Virginia Intermont College. That year, he was selected as the NAIA National Assistant Coach of the Year for the sprints area in the indoor season after helping the Cobras to a runner-up finish at the 2006 NAIA Championships.
In 2007, he served as the Virginia Intermont's interim head coach and had several All-Americans. He also assisted in three consecutive NAIA Cross Country National titles, and served as the interim head coach at the 2007 NAIA Outdoor Championships, where the team finished sixth.
“It's a great opportunity for Coach Flaquer to be in charge of a sprint program,” Spry said. “It's really a tremendous opportunity for him at Oklahoma State. As sad as I am to lose him, I'm equally as happy to see him progress in his chosen field. He is one of the young, upcoming coaches in this business and he's going to do great things.”
Flaquer is the son of Pedro Grajales, a two-time Olympian in the 400 meters and a previous coach for the Colombian national team. The national stadium in his hometown of Cali is named in his honor. Flaquer, a native of Samson, Ala., graduated from Virginia Intermont College in 2007 with a degree in health and physical education.
