Markel Fernández
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Markel Fernández Soto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 February 2003 Sopela, Biscay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | 400 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 400m: 45.93 (Burgos, 2024) Indoor 400m: 46.19 (Apeldoorn, 2025) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
Markel Fernández Soto (born 6 February 2003) is a Spanish sprinter. He won a silver medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships.[1]
Career
He is from Biscay, in the Basque Country.[2] In 2021, was runner-up at the Spanish Athletics Championships in the 400 metres.[3] He competed for Spain at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.[4] At the Games, he was a member of the Spanish 4 × 400 m relay team which set a new Spanish U20 record.[5]
His first senior international competition was the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul, where he finished fourth in the 4 × 400 metres relay alongside Óscar Husillos, Lucas Búa, and David García Zurita.[6][7] He was selected for the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland to compete in the individual 400 metres, as well as the 4 x 400 metres relay.[8]
In July 2024, he ran a new personal best time of 45.93 seconds in the heats, before running 46.16 seconds in the final to win the Spanish U23 Championships over 400 metres, in Burgos.[9][10]
He was selected for the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, but did not reach the semi-finals of the 400 metres.[11] He did however, win a silver medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay on 9 March 2025 alongside his compatriots Manuel Guijarro, Óscar Husillos, and Bernat Erta, setting a new Spanish record time of 3:05.18.[12][13] He was selected for the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing but had to withdraw at the last minute due to a medical issue and did not compete.[14]
He competed at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China in the Men's 4 × 400 metres relay in May 2025.[15] He competed at the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen, Norway, placing sixth in the final of the 400 metres. Later in the championships, he ran as part of the gold medal winning Spanish 4 x 400 metres relay team.[16]
Personal Bests
| Event | Mark | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 metres | 20.77 (+0.7) | Bilbao | 29 June 2025 |
| 400 metres | 45.47 | Tarragona | 2 August 2025 |
| 800 metres | 1:53.01 | Durango | 22 May 2021 |
| Event | Mark | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 metres | 21.79 | San Sebastián | 30 January 2022 |
| 400 metres | 46.19 | Apeldoorn | 14 March 2025 |
| 800 metres | 1:55.73 | San Sebastián | 16 January 2021 |
References
- ^ "Markel Feenandez". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Markel Fernández, "ready" for the European Championship relay". ElcCorreo. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Markel Fernández wins silver at the National Championship and the minimum for the European Under-20 Championship". El Correo. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "World Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "El 4x400 masculino, cuarto del mundo con récord de España". rtve.es. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "European Athletics Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Bizkaia's Fernández makes his debut in the 4x400m at the European Championships, but is left without a medal". eitb.eus. 5 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "SpainAthletics, keep creating excitement at the U23 European Championships". Atletismorfea.es (in Spanish). 11 July 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Burgos corona a los campeones de España Sub23". atletismorfea.es (in Spanish). 14 July 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Spanish U23 Championships". World Athletics. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "European Athletics Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Markel Fernández from Vizcaya wins silver in the European relay". ElcCorreo. 9 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ Broadbent, Chris (Mar 9, 2025). "Five gold medals! Super Sunday as Dutch close Apeldoorn 2025 with glorious finale". European Athletics. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "WIC Nanjing 25 preview: men's 400m". World Athletics. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Men's 4x400 Metres Relay - World Athletics Relays Championships 2025". Watch Athletics. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ Broadbent, Chris (20 Jul 2025). "Great Britain and Spain win thrilling 4x400m finals in European U23 records". European Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
European Athletics U23 Championships champions in men's 4 × 400 metres relay | |
|---|---|
| |
† denotes athletes who took part in heats only |
