Richer Pérez Cobas (born 20 February 1986) is a Cuban long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He was the gold medallist at the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.
From Havana,[1] Pérez first established himself nationally at the 2007 Barrientos Memorial meet in Havana, winning the 10,000 metres.[2] At the 2011 meet he set new personal bests when he won the 10,000 m in a time of 29:56.32 minutes and was runner-up in the 5000 metres, behind Mexico's Sergio Pedraza.[3] Later that year he won the half marathon section of the Marabana, then claimed victory on his marathon debut at the Panama City Marathon with a time of 2:25:48 hours.[4]
He competed only domestically over the next two years, continuing with two further wins at the Marabana Half Marathon and back-to-back titles in the Cuban Independence Anniversary Half Marathon. He also won a track title over 10,000 m at the Copa de Cuba in 2012. He repeated that feat in 2014 and also won a distance double at the Barrientos Memorial. After a fourth straight win at the Marabana Half marathon he was chosen to represent Cuba internationally for the first time at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.[4] There he was the gold medallist in the marathon with a personal best time of 2:19:13 hours.[5] This made him the first Cuban to win a marathon at that competition, which was first held in 1938.[6]
At the start of the 2015 season, he upheld his place as the country's top distance runner with a track double at the Copa de Cuba and a 10,000 m win at the Barrientos Memorial.[4] He surprised on his second international performance at the 2015 Pan American Games: entering only his third marathon, he defeated the more favoured Raúl Pacheco (a Peruvian Olympian) to maintain his undefeated streak at the distance. His finishing time of 2:17:04 hours was a personal best and also reached his objective of running a qualifying time for the 2015 World Championships in Athletics.[1] [7] [8]
| 2014 | Central American and Caribbean Games | Veracruz, Mexico | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Marathon | 2:19:13 | |
| 2015 | Pan American Games | Toronto, Canada | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Marathon | 2:17:04 |