Roberto Hernández Prendes (6 March 1967 – 5 July 2021)Roberto Hernández's obituary
was a Cuban

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

sprinter who specialized in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. He was born in

Limonar Limonar is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. Overview The municipality is divided into the barrios of Canímar, Guamacaro, Caoba, Sumidero, Coliseo, and San Miguel. Established in 1876 as ''Guamacaro'', the name was chan ...

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

. His personal best for the 400 metres is 44.14 seconds, set in Seville, Spain in May 1990. Until September 2006, this was the fastest time by anyone not from the US. It remains the Cuban record for the event. He broke 44.5 seconds on four other occasions. Hernandez finished fourth in the World Championship finals in 1987 and 1991. As a member of the Cuban 4 × 400 m relay squad he won a World Championship Bronze medal in 1987 and an Olympic silver medal in 1992. As of 1 October 2014, Hernandez holds the fastest non-winning time for the 300 metres.

International competitions

¹Representing the Americas

References