Dominican hurdler Yeral Núñez Mercedes at 23 years won the gold in the 400m hurdle at the Santo Domingo 2026 games on 4 August 2026. He trains in Santo Domingo at the Felix Sanchez Academy under the guidance of two-time Olympic gold medalist Felix Sanchez. He says Sanchez is his “motor” and coach and the reason why he chose to train for the event in the first place.Félix Sánchez won the men’s 400-meter hurdles gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics on 6 August 2012 with a time of 47.63 seconds.Núñez holds a personal best of 47.77 seconds in the 400m hurdles, set on 16 July 2026 in Spain, ranking him among the top 15 hurdlers globally in World Athletics rankings for the 2026 season. Núñez achieved his personal best time of 47.77 seconds on 16 July 2026 at the Meeting de Madrid (a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event), held at the Estadio Vallehermoso in Madrid, Spain.