Huerta was born on March 22, 1984, in Havana, Cuba. He first began training as an athlete in Cuba, waking before 5:00 AM each morning to swim at the Marcelo Salado pool in Havana. At age six, after practicing alongside the Cuban national swimming team, Huerta first began to think of competing in the Olympics himself, and two years later watched on television as Cuban athletes participated in the
1992 Summer Olympics in
Barcelona,
Spain. At age 13, he competed in his first triathlon, placing first in the Cuban IronKids national championship. Soon afterwards, in November, 1997, Huerta left Cuba along with his sister and mother to emigrate to the
United States. Arriving in
Miami,
Florida, the family joined his grandmother, who had herself come to the United States during the
Mariel boatlift. During high school, Huerta joined a triathlon club and competed in cross-country. He received a scholarship to attend
Florida Atlantic University. At age 20, he became a naturalized United States citizen. ==Athletic career==