Roberto Hernández (sprinter)

"Roberto Hernández (athlete)" redirects here. For other sportspeople with this name, see Roberto Hernández (disambiguation).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Hernández and the second or maternal family name is Prendes.

Roberto Hernández Prendes (6 March 1967 – 5 July 2021)^[1] was a Cuban track and field sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. He was born in Limonar, Matanzas. 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.

Roberto Hernández

Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Cuba
Olympic Games
	1992 Barcelona	4x400 m relay

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

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Cuba
1985	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Nassau, Bahamas	1st	400 m	45.34
	World Student Games	Kobe, Japan	2nd	400 m	45.41
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.20
	World Cup	Canberra, Australia	6th	4 × 400 m relay	3:03.521
1986	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-20)	Mexico City, Mexico	1st	200 m	20.70 A
			1st	400 m	45.19 A
	Ibero American Championships	Havana, Cuba	2nd	400 m	46.03
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:09.09
	Pan American Junior Championships	Winter Park, United States	1st	200 m	20.83
			1st	400 m	45.64
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	40.62
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:04.30
	World Junior Championships	Athens, Greece	2nd (h) [2]	200m	21.20 (+0.3 m/s)
			2nd	400m	45.64
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:04.22
1987	World Indoor Championships	Indianapolis, United States	2nd	400 m	46.09
	Pan American Games	Indianapolis, United States	3rd	400 m	45.13
	World Championships	Rome, Italy	4th	400 m	44.99
			3rd	4 × 400 m	2:59.16 NR
1988	Ibero-American Championships	Ciudad de México, Mexico	3rd	200m	20.24 (-0.3 m/s) A
			1st	400m	44.44 A
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	2:59.71 A CR
1989	Central American and Caribbean Championships	San Juan, Puerto Rico	1st	400 m	44.84 CR
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:04.90
	Universiade	Duisburg, West Germany	1st	400 m	45.42
	World Cup	Barcelona, Spain	1st	400 m	44.58[3]
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:00.65[3]
1990	Goodwill Games	Seattle, United States	1st	400 m	44.79
			3rd	4 × 400 m	3:03.35
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Mexico City, Mexico	1st	200 m	20.72 A (-0.8 m/s)
			1st	400 m	44.84 A
			3rd	4 × 400 m	3:06.17 A
1991	Pan American Games	Havana, Cuba	7th	200 m	23.22
			1st	400 m	44.52
			1st	4 × 400 m	3:01.93
	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	4th	400 m	44.86
1992	Ibero-American Championships	Seville, Spain	1st (h)[4]	400m	46.37
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:01.58
	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	5th	400 m	44.52
			2nd	4 × 400 m	2:59.51
1993	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	heats	400 m	46.01
			6th	4 × 400 m	3:00.46
1994	Ibero-American Championships	Mar del Plata, Argentina	—	4 × 400 m relay	DQ
1996	Ibero American Championships	Medellín, Colombia	5th	400 m	46.95
			1st	4 × 400 m	3:03.98
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, Georgia, United States	19th (h)	4 × 400 m	3:05.75

¹Representing the Americas

References

1. Roberto Hernández's obituary Archived 5 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
2. Did not show in the quarterfinal.
3. Representing the Americas
4. Did not show in the final

• Roberto Hernández at World Athletics