After emigrating from Cuba to the United States as a young man, Huerta began training as a professional triathlete.

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.

Arriving in Miami, Florida, the family joined his grandmother, who had herself come to the United States during the Mariel boatlift.

Over the following years, he had trouble with injuries and encountered challenges in finding sponsors, in addition to losing his father in 2009.

[4] Both prior to and after qualifying for the Olympics, Huerta trained on the side of an active volcano in Costa Rica.