Lindy John Remigino (June 3, 1931 – July 11, 2018) was an American

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, the 1952

Olympic 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 b ...

100 m champion.

Life and career

Remigino was born in

Elmhurst, Queens, New York Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting Railr ...

. He was named after aviator

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

. In 1952, while at

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...

he won the ICAAAA 220 championship, then placed close second to Morgan State's sprinter, Art Bragg, at the United States Olympic Trials. The expected main American contender for the Olympic title, Jim Golliday, was injured and did not qualify. In

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, one of the leading American sprinters, Art Bragg, was injured prior to the Games, leaving two Americans, Dean Smith and Remigino to qualify for the final. Out of the blocks, John Treloar took a step ahead, but Remigino the eventual Olympic champion and several more quickly picked up his pace, with Jamaica's

Herb McKenley The Hon. Herbert Henry McKenley OM (10 July 1922 – 26 November 2007) was a Jamaican track and field sprinter. He competed at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in six events in total, and won one gold and three silver medals. Born in Pleasant Vall ...

lagging well behind. By the 80 m mark, Remigino held a big lead: however, in his excitement at sight of the advancing tape, he pitched forward in a virtual lean. He therefore decelerated in the lean, and, as McKenley came quickly, at the tape no one was certain who won. The officials, however, agreed to award the gold medal to Remigino. The finish of the race was one of the closest in Olympic history with the first four clocked at the same time, 10.4, with the fifth and sixth runners only 0.1 behind in 10.5. Across Europe that Summer, Remigino defeated McKenley several times more in the 100, while McKenley defeated the new "World's Fastest Human" one time in the 200 m race. In Oslo, Norway, Remigino won in 10.2 s which would have equaled the 100-meters world-record, but an out of place wind-o-meter meant the time could not be ratified. His official best time was 10.4 s. In 1953, Remigino won both ICAAAA sprint championships. In 1955 he placed second to

Bobby Morrow Bobby Joe Morrow (October 15, 1935May 30, 2020) was an American sprinter who won three gold medals at the 1956 Olympics. He has been called "the dominant sprinter of the 1950s" and "the most relaxed sprinter of all time, even more so than his ...

in the 100 US Nationals. Following his running career, Remigino became a coach at the

Hartford High School Hartford Church of England High School is a voluntary aided Church of England secondary school on Neot Road in Hartford, Cheshire, for students aged between eleven and sixteen. The school has dual specialist college status in both languages an ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Remingino died on July 11, 2018, at the age of 87.Lindy Remigino, Olympic Champion Runner, Is Dead at 87
''The New York Times'' (2018-07-12). Retrieved on 2020-07-14.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Remigino, Lindy 1931 births 2018 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics American male sprinters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Sportspeople from Queens, New York Track and field athletes from New York City Manhattan Jaspers track and field athletes Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics American people of Italian descent People from Elmhurst, Queens