| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Herrera Flores |
| Born | (1985-06-05) 5 June 1985 (age 39) Los Palacios, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Cuba |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Updated on 4 June 2013 | |
Michael Herrera (born 5 June 1985) is a Cuban track and field sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres. He has a personal best of 20.31 seconds for the event and has also recorded 10.16 seconds for the 100 metres. He was a semi-finalist at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and has represented Cuba at the Pan American Games in 2007 and 2011.
Born in Los Palacios, Pinar del Río,[1][2] he began competing at the senior level in 2005 and finished third in both the 100 m and 200 m at the Cuban Championships that year. He won the 200 m and the 4×100 metres relay at the 2005 ALBA Games. He was selected for these events at the 2005 Central American and Caribbean Championships and came sixth and fourth, respectively.[3] He won the 200 m at the Barrientos Memorial in 2006.[4] He reached the semi-finals of both the sprints at the 2006 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics. At the 2006 CAC Games he helped the relay team to fourth (running alongside Yoel Hernández and Dayron Robles) and was a 200 m semi-finalist.[3]
Herrera defended both his titles at the 2007 ALBA GamesinCaracas and ran a personal best of 20.31 seconds. He was a finalist in the 200 m at the 2007 Pan American Games and helped the relay team reach the final.[5] He only had a season's best of 20.81 seconds in 2008 and did not compete internationally.[6] Herrera switched his focus to the 100 m event in the 2009 season and was rewarded with a personal best of 10.16 seconds, wins at the Barrientos Memorial and the 2009 ALBA Games.[7] He placed seventh in the final at the 2009 CAC Championships.[8]
A quiet 2010 was highlighted by a 100 m win at the Barrientos Memorial with a hand-timed 9.7 seconds.[9] He began doubling up in the sprint events for the 2011 season and won both events at the Barrientos meet.[10] He won silver medals in both events at the 2011 ALBA Games and helped Cuba take the relay title. His season's best of 20.52 seconds for the 200 m was enough for a place on the Cuban team for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and ended the competition in fourth in the semi-finals.[6] He was also selected for the 2011 Pan American Games and was a semi-finalist in both the individual sprints, as well as running Cuba to fourth in the relay final with Roberto Skyers.[3] In 2012 he placed fifth in the 200 m at the Ibero-American Championships,[11] and a run of 20.64 seconds in Havana gained him a place in the Cuban squad for the 2012 London Olympics.[12]
La Habana, 23 April 2009
Caracas, 11 May 2007| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing Cuba
| |||||
| 2005 | ALBA Games | La Habana, Cuba | 1st | 200 m | 20.98 s (wind: +0.0 m/s) |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 40.08 s | |||
| Central American and Caribbean Championships | Nassau, Bahamas | 6th | 200 m | 20.91 s (wind: +1.9 m/s) | |
| 4th | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.40 s | |||
| 2006 | NACAC U-23 Championships | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 12th (sf) | 100m | 10.66 (wind: +0.7 m/s) |
| 3rd (h) [13] | 200m | 21.21(wind: +1.3 m/s) | |||
| Central American and Caribbean Games | Cartagena, Colombia | 6th (sf) | 200 m | 21.15 s (wind: -0.1 m/s) | |
| 4th | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.63 s | |||
| 2007 | ALBA Games | Caracas, Venezuela | 1st | 200 m | 20.31 s (wind: +2.0 m/s) |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.23 s | |||
| Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 5th (sf) | 200 m | 20.74 s (wind: +0.7 m/s) | |
| 6th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.54 s | |||
| 2009 | ALBA Games | La Habana, Cuba | 1st | 100 m | 10.16 s (wind: -1.3 m/s) |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.77 s | |||
| Central American and Caribbean Championships | La Habana, Cuba | 7th | 100 m | 10.31 s (wind: +0.9 m/s) | |
| 2011 | ALBA Games | Barquisimeto, Venezuela | 2nd | 100 m | 10.35 s (wind: +0.1 m/s) |
| 2nd | 200 m | 20.67 s w (wind: +2.4 m/s) | |||
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.34 s | |||
| World Championships | Daegu, Korea | 13th (sf) | 200 m | 20.75 s (wind: -0.7 m/s) | |
| Pan American Games | Guadalajara, México | 13th (sf) | 100 m | 10.52 s (wind: -1.9 m/s) | |
| 8th (sf) | 200 m | 20.66 s (wind: +0.5 m/s) | |||
| 4th | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.75 s | |||
| 2012 | Ibero-American Championships | Barquisimeto, Venezuela | 5th | 200 m | 20.78 s (wind: -0.9 m/s) |
| Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 6th (h) | 200 m | 21.05 s | |
