Nerea Bermejo Yanguas: Spain’s Versatile Sprint and Hurdles Star
Nerea Bermejo Yanguas has established herself as one of Spain’s most versatile and accomplished track and field athletes, excelling across multiple sprint and hurdles disciplines. Hailing from Zizur in the Navarra region of Spain, Bermejo has become a record-breaking force in Spanish athletics, representing Grupompleo Pamplona Atlético with distinction on both national and international stages.
Athletic Accomplishments
The 400-Meter Hurdles Specialist
Bermejo’s signature event is the 400-meter hurdles, where she has achieved remarkable success. Her personal best of 56.28 seconds, set on June 13, 2021, in La Nucia, Spain, stands as the seventh-best mark in Spanish history. This breakthrough performance positioned her 47th in the world rankings and 18th in Europe for that year, establishing her as an athlete of international caliber.
Her excellence in the hurdles earned her multiple national medals, including bronze medals at the 2019 and 2020 Spanish Championships in the 400-meter hurdles. These achievements have solidified her reputation as one of Spain’s premier hurdlers, part of a new generation of Spanish athletes pushing the boundaries in this demanding event.
Sprint Versatility and National Championships
Beyond the hurdles, Bermejo has proven herself an exceptional sprinter across multiple distances. She captured her first national gold medal at the 2021 Spanish Indoor Championships in the 200 meters, clocking an impressive 23.54 seconds. This victory came after earning silver medals in the same event in 2019 and 2020, demonstrating her consistency and steady improvement.
Her personal best in the 200 meters stands at 23.36 seconds (outdoor), achieved on July 10, 2021, which ranks as the fifth-best Spanish mark of all time in indoor competition. In the 100 meters, she has recorded 11.65 seconds, placing her among Spain’s elite sprinters. This speed work has been instrumental in her hurdles success, as she has always believed that improving her pure speed would translate to better performances over the barriers.
Regional Record Holder
Bermejo’s dominance in Navarra athletics is undeniable. In a remarkable 29-day span in 2021, she broke five regional records, showcasing an extraordinary period of athletic excellence. She holds six Navarra regional records across multiple events: 400-meter hurdles (56.28), 100 meters (11.65), 200 meters both indoor (23.54) and outdoor (23.36), 300 meters (39.99), and the 4×200-meter relay (1:41.22, set in 2016 alongside Lacuey, de la Rúa, and Petrirena).
Most notably, in February 2020, Bermejo broke a 30-year-old Navarra record in the indoor 200 meters with a time of 23.73 seconds, surpassing the mark held by her former coach and Olympic athlete Goya Ferrer since 1990. This achievement held special significance, as it represented a symbolic passing of the torch from mentor to student.
Relay Excellence
Bermejo has also contributed significantly to Spain’s relay efforts. She was part of a 4×400-meter relay team that recorded 3:32.49 seconds on June 29, 2021, in Castellón, and a 4×100-meter relay team that clocked 44.92 seconds on June 27, 2021, in Getafe. Her participation in the Spanish national team relay squad has demonstrated her value as both an individual competitor and team player.
International Competition
Bermejo made her international debut competing for Spain in relay events, including being selected for the 4×400-meter relay at European team competitions. While her Olympic dreams remain aspirational, her consistent performances and proximity to international qualifying standards have kept her in contention for major championships.
Education and Academic Pursuits
Balancing elite athletics with academic responsibilities, Bermejo pursued a degree in Nursing at the Public University of Navarra (UPNA). As of 2021, she had completed her third year of studies, demonstrating her commitment to building a career beyond track and field. While she has expressed that her ultimate dream would be to support herself through athletics, she has maintained her educational pursuits as an important foundation for her future.
Career and Training
Athletic Development
Bermejo’s journey in athletics began at Club Ardoi before transitioning to Grupompleo Pamplona Atlético approximately five years into her career. Unlike many elite athletes who show early promise in youth categories, Bermejo’s progression was more gradual—she didn’t make significant appearances at Spanish championships until after the junior level, instead quietly building her foundation through consistent training and development.
Coaching Influences
Her development has been shaped by several influential coaches. She worked under Patxi Morentin early in her career before training with François Beoringyan, who has been credited with helping her achieve her breakthrough performances. Most notably, she had the opportunity to train under Goya Ferrer, a Navarra athletics legend who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and held the 200-meter regional record that Bermejo would eventually break.
The relationship between Bermejo and Ferrer represents one of the most compelling mentor-student stories in Spanish athletics. Ferrer, who won 16 medals at Spanish Championships and participated in World Championships and Olympics, recognized Bermejo’s potential early on. She would often encourage the young sprinter by saying the record “wasn’t so difficult” to break, though Bermejo initially viewed this as impossible when she was running times more than 1.5 seconds slower than the mark.
Ferrer expressed pride and satisfaction when Bermejo finally broke her 30-year-old record, noting that while she was sad the record had stood so long without being broken by other Navarran athletes, she was delighted it was Bermejo who surpassed it. Ferrer has predicted that Bermejo has the potential to compete at the Olympic level.
Training Philosophy
Bermejo’s approach to the 400-meter hurdles has been built on a foundation of pure speed development. She has consistently emphasized that improving her speed in shorter sprints directly translates to better performances in the hurdles. This philosophy has proven successful, as her progression in the 100 and 200 meters has coincided with dramatic improvements in her hurdles times.
Personal Background
Family and Athletic Heritage
Athletics runs in the Bermejo family. Her younger sister, Ane, also competes in track and field for Club Ardoi. The sisters made history together when they ran in the same 4×400-meter relay team, marking a special moment in their shared athletic journey.
Personal Interests and Aspirations
While Bermejo admits to not being an exceptional student, she has successfully managed to balance her nursing studies with her athletic commitments. Her primary aspiration remains to reach the highest levels of international competition. In the short term, she has expressed goals of representing Spain at the Under-23 level and eventually with the senior national team.
Her ultimate dream, like most elite athletes, is to compete at the Olympic Games. While she views this as a longer-term objective rather than an immediate target, her steady progression and breakthrough performances have kept this dream within realistic reach. She has been careful to keep her feet on the ground, focusing on continuous improvement rather than getting caught up in the pressure of Olympic qualifying standards.
Character and Mindset
Described by those around her as talented, hardworking, and dedicated, Bermejo has shown remarkable maturity in handling both success and pressure. When she arrived at the 2021 Spanish Indoor Championships as the favorite for the first time, she acknowledged feeling the pressure but managed to deliver her best performance when it mattered most. Her reaction to breaking records has consistently been one of humble surprise mixed with justified pride in her hard work.
Recent Developments and Future Outlook
Bermejo’s peak performances came during the 2020-2021 seasons, when she established most of her personal bests and regional records. Her remarkable consistency across multiple events—simultaneously ranking among Spain’s top ten in the 100 meters, top five in the 200 meters, and top ten in the 400-meter hurdles—demonstrates her exceptional versatility.
With her personal best of 56.28 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles placing her less than one second away from the Olympic qualifying standard (55.40), Bermejo has positioned herself on the cusp of international breakthrough. As part of a new generation of Spanish hurdlers including Sara Gallego, Carla García, and footballer-turned-athlete Salma Paralluelo, she is helping to usher in a new era of Spanish excellence in the event.
Her nickname “el cohete Bermejo” (the Bermejo rocket) reflects both her explosive speed and her rapid ascent in Spanish athletics. As she continues to develop under quality coaching and maintain her dedication to the sport, the athletics community watches with anticipation to see how far this versatile talent from Navarra can go on the international stage.
Whether she ultimately achieves her Olympic dreams or continues to dominate Spanish domestic competition, Nerea Bermejo has already secured her place as one of Navarra’s greatest modern athletes and a significant contributor to Spanish track and field.
Go Nerea!
