Mario Recordón Burnier nicknamed ''The Tiger of Osorno'' (14 July 1922 – 5 June 1994) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an architect, athlete and educator. He led Chile to victory in 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 ...

in the 1946 South American Athletics Championships and competed in the men's 110 metres hurdles at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

Early life and education

He was the son of

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immigrants Julio Recordon Borel and Rosa Burnie Bruchez. He studied at the Osorno Lyceum and the National Boarding School at Barros Arana. Relocating to Santiago in 1939, he studied in the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, receiving a degree in architecture in 1946.

Athletic career

A self-taught athlete, he first competed in 1942, after reading in a newspaper about the possibility of competing in an interfaculty tournament at Los Leones stadium. His first major competition was a university tournament in which he came in first place in the shot put event. In 1945, he placed in the XIV South American Athletic Championships in Montevideo. Competing for the first time in the decathlon, he won, surprising all the participants not only with his victory but with his physical appearance, tall and blonde, a contrast to the rest of the Chilean delegation. In the 1946 South American Championships, which took place in Chile, he set records in the 110 meter

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

and the 1500 meters. He also took part in the

, and on the first day came in first in four of the five events and second in the other. On the second day, however, it turned out that he had pulled a muscle, an injury that prevented him from breaking the world record of 7,000 points, but he came close with 6,886 points. This represented an improvement of 500 points over his performance in the same combined event in Montevideo. His achievement at the 1946 championships brought Chile the gold, consigning

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and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

to second and third place, respectively. He took part 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 ...

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in 1948, although little by little his performance declined, until a strong bout of typhus obliged him to bow out of the final competition. Competing later at the local level, he combined this activity with his career as an architect.

Athletic honors

Gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s at the 1946 South American Championships in Chile in the decathlon and the 110-meter hurdle. *South American record-holder in the 110-metre hurdle and decathlon.

Architectural career

From the time he received his degree in 1946, he pursued his career as an architect while continuing to participate in sports. In 1955 he was named professor of Architectural Composition at the University of Chile. In 1964 he was given the Chair of Architectural Design at the same institution. Between 1988 and 1990 he was Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Chile.

Professional honors

In 1987 he was awarded the National Prize in Architecture.

Death

He died of a heart attack at Lake Colico on June 5, 1994.

Personal life

In 1952 he married Marianne Martin Guilleux, with whom he had three children: Felipe, Catalina, and Nicolás.

Architectural accomplishments

*Estadio Cubierto Metropolitano (actual Movistar Arena) *Estadio Monumental *Estadio Regional de Antofagasta *Hipódromo de Antofagasta *Estadio El Cobre *Cine de Coronel *Estadio Israelita *Casino de Puerto Varas *Estadio Municipal de Concepción *Estadio de Valdivia *Gimnasio Municipal de Valdivia

Recognition

*The running track at the National Stadium bears his name. *The Olympic Village at Osorno is also named for him.. *The University of Chile established the Marío Recordón Medal, which is awarded in recognition of academic achievement. *The Mario Recordón Athletic Competition is organized by the Universitarios Azules in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. *The Mario Recordón Student Athletic Competition is an annual event in Osorno.Diario de sesiones: Disponemos de documentos desde el año 1965 a la fecha; Labor Parlamentaria

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Recordon, Mario 1922 births 1994 deaths University of Chile alumni Chilean male shot putters Chilean educators People from Osorno, Chile 20th-century Chilean architects Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Chile Chilean male hurdlers