Héctor Berra (23 September 1909 – 4 November 1977) was an Argentine

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete. He competed in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

. He reached the finals in long jump and finished in the seventh position with a 6.66 meters jump. Aside from his participation in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, Héctor participated in the

South American Championships in Athletics The South American Championships in Athletics is a biennial athletics event organized by CONSUDATLE. The first edition in 1919 was competed between only two countries (Chile and Uruguay), but it has since expanded and has generally been held every t ...

representing Argentina in 1929, 1931, 1933 and 1937. He won 3 straight championships with the national team (1929/1931/1933), and 4 gold medals (

in 1929/1931, and

in 1931/1933), one silver medal (

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

in 1937) and broke three South American records in the process (long jump in 1931/1933, and decathlon in 1931). His South American record in decathlon remained unmatched until the 1975 South American Championships in Athletics when his Argentine compatriot

Tito Steiner Tito Steiner (born March 1, 1952 in Paraguay) is a retired decathlete of German descent who represented Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the current Argentine record holder in the event. __TOC__ Career He set a national record in ...

won his first gold medal.

References

1909 births 1977 deaths Athletes from Buenos Aires Argentine male sprinters Argentine male long jumpers Argentine decathletes Olympic athletes for Argentina Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics 20th-century Argentine sportspeople {{Argentina-athletics-bio-stub