Félix de la Caridad Carvajal y Soto, known as Andarín Carvajal (18 March 1875 – 27 January 1949) was a
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n mailman and long-distance runner who competed in the
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...
.
Career
Carvajal was born in
San Antonio de los Baños
San Antonio de los Baños is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is located 26 km from the city of Havana, and the Ariguanabo River runs through it. It was founded in 1802.
History
There are 39 schools in the town, e ...
and lived in poverty his entire life before his death in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Olympic marathon at the
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...
in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, but lost all of his money gambling in
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
and was forced to hitchhike and walk the rest of the way. He arrived at the race dressed in street clothes and hastily cut around the legs of his trousers to make them more like shorts. Carvajal performed well in the race despite stopping to chat with spectators and snatching some peaches from a spectator's car. Later in the race he saw an apple orchard and stopped to eat some apples which turned out to be rotten. After stopping to nap and recover, Carvajal rallied to finish fourth.
Carvajal returned to St. Louis the following year to run in the inaugural All-Western Marathon, where he finished third, in a time of 3:44.
Carvajal was selected to represent Cuba in the 1906 Olympic Marathon at
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, with his expenses funded by the Cuban government. However, he disappeared after landing in Italy, and never arrived in Athens. He was thought to be dead, and his obituary was published in the Cuban newspapers, but he later returned to Havana on a Spanish steamer. He then turned professional and would go on to defeat American distance runner Henry W. Shelton in a six-hour race in 1907. On 8 May 1909, he participated in a Marathon Derby on a six-laps-per-mile track at the
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...
in New York City with an international field of twelve other professional marathon runners, the most notable being
Dorando Pietri
Dorando Pietri (; often wrongly spelt Petri; 16 October 1885 – 7 February 1942) was an Italian long-distance runner. He finished first in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London but was subsequently disqualified.
Biography Early ...
. Carvajal was quickly lapped by the leaders after they had completed the first mile in 5:02. The race was won by Henri St. Yves of France in a time of 2:44:05; Carvajal finished, but was never out of last place.ST. YVES ONCE MORE A WINNER - FRENCHMAN EASILY FIRST IN MARATHON RUN - Field of 13 Runners for Professional Race Before 13,000 Persons at the Polo Grounds - Svanberg of Sweden Second - Crook From Fall River Third." ''The Sun'' (New York, New York), 9 May 1909, p. 12.
Legacy
The
Spanish language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
book ''Félix Carvajal, corredor de maratón'', by Bernardo José Mora, was written on his life.
A 1956 episode of ''
Telephone Time
''Telephone Time'' is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from 1957 to 1958. The series features plays adapted from short stories by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter became the ...
'' entitled ''Felix the Fourth'' featured
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez (born Ramiro Gonzalez Gonzalez; May 24, 1925 – February 6, 2006) was an American character actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in a number of John Wayne films.
Life and career
His father was a trumpet ...