Alejandro Cárdenas

Alejandro Cardenas ( born October 4, 1974 in Hermosillo ) is a retired Mexican track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 -meter run.

Earlier in his career, he took up also in the decathlon. At the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata in 1995, he won in this discipline with 7387 points, the bronze medal. He also was employed there in the Mexican 4-by- 100 - meter relay team, which also won a bronze medal in 39.77 s. Already in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, ​​he had been employed in the relay, but was eliminated in the semifinals.

In 1996, he increasingly began to specialize in the 400 -meter run. At the 1996 Olympics in Barcelona and at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Paris in 1997, he reached over this distance in each case the semifinal round. At the World Athletics Championships 1997 in Athens, however, he resigned from in the quarter- finals.

His first international podium in the 400m succeeded Cárdenas at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi in 1999 s with winning bronze in 46.02 That same year he also finished in the Central American and Caribbean Games in third. The greatest success of his career celebrated at the World Athletics Championships in 1999 in Seville, when he took a personal best of 44.31 s, also a Mexican national record, another bronze medal. Shortly before, he had achieved at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, the same placement.

He also took part in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in the 400 -meter run. He reached the semi-finals both times. During his last international appearance at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 2005, he failed, however, in the preliminary round.

Alejandro Cárdenas is 1,86 m tall and weighed 73 kg to his playing days. He is married to high jumper Romary Rifka.

Bests

• 200 m: 20.63 s, May 23, 1998 Mexico City
• 400 m: 44.31 s, August 26, 1999 Sevilla
• Decathlon: 7614 Points, May 11, 1996 Medellín