Rolland Lee Romero (August 21, 1914 – November 25, 1975) was an American

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

er. He was national champion in 1935 and competed in the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Biography

Romero was born in

Welsh, Louisiana Welsh is a town in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana. The population was 3,226 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the Jennings Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Welsh was originally a homestead owned by former plantation oversee ...

on August 21, 1914. At Welsh High School he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and competed in a variety of track and field events. From the fall of 1931 he attended

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name o ...

, receiving an athletic scholarship midway through his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year; originally, the 120 yard hurdles were his main event, but he dropped it soon due to awkward falls and turned to the triple jump. Romero developed rapidly; his season best in 1932 was 49 ft in (15.20 m), the best jump by an American since

Dan Ahearn Dan Ahearn (né ''Daniel William Ahearne;'' April 12, 1888 – December 20, 1942) was an Irish and later American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He competed for the U.S. Olympic team in the 1920 Su ...

in 1913. At the 1932 United States Olympic Trials he was second behind Sidney Bowman with a jump of 48 ft in (14.89 m), qualifying for the

Olympics 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 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Romero placed eighth at the Olympics, reaching 14.85 m (48 ft in) on his best jump; as a 17-year-old, he was the youngest athlete on the American track team. Romero scored his only

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

title at the 1935

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) meet, jumping 50 ft in (15.36 m) and breaking Ahearn's meeting record. He set his personal best, 50 ft in (15.46 m), in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

on June 5, 1936. Romero lost to newcomer Billy Brown at the 1936 AAU meet, but won with 49 ft 9 in (15.16 m) at the

Olympic Trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

the following week. He qualified for the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he jumped 15.08 m (49 ft in) and placed fifth; he was the best of the Americans. Romero died on November 25, 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Rolland 1914 births 1975 deaths People from Welsh, Louisiana American male triple jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States