Arturo Medina

Born in Concepción, Chile in 1898 Arturo Medina McKey had two distinct careers, the first as a talented sportsman and the second as a renowned music conductor. Medina studied at the local high school where he belonged to the choir before travelling to Italy to study singing and music theory. Whilst in Europe he made his début as a soloist in 1926 during the opera season in Genève, Switzerland. He appeared in multiple operas including Madame Butterfly in addition participating in symphonic concerts. Medina returned to Chile in 1930 to perform in operas at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago.

In his youth Medina was an outstanding athlete who won regional boxing titles and held the South American record in the javelin throw. He competed in sports when he moved to Italy, where he also continued with his passion for music, in addition to winning sporting titles. From his base in Italy he travelled to Antwerpen in 1920 for the Olympics where he was the flagbearer for Chile at the Opening Ceremony. Medina competed in the javelin in Antwerpen and finished in 16th place with a best throw of 43.900 metres. He specialised in the javelin, winning gold medals at the South American Athletics Championships in 1919, 1920, and 1924, and a silver in 1922.

In 1934 Medina was hired by the Concepción Symphony Corporation and directed the Polyphonic Choir until 1974. With finances coming from the Chilean government in 1951 he was able to tour with the choir across Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay. In 1954 Medina was awarded with the Municipal Art Prize and in 1978 he was bestowed with the Order of Teaching and Cultural Merit.

Personal Best: JT - 56.39 (1924).