Carlos Vera

Carlos Vera gained an interest in track and field athletics at the age of eight, when his father took him to see a regional championship. His competitive career began in earnest when he went to study architecture at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile after World War II and began winning collegiate championships in several events, as well as coming in second in the triple jump at the 1947 South American Championships, behind Geraldo de Oliveira of Brazil, after being a reserve in 1946. He first represented Chile at the Olympics in 1948, where he was eliminated in the qualifying round of the triple jump, although he won that event and the long jump at that year’s unofficial South American Championships, in addition to coming in third in the pole vault. The following year, he was runner-up at the South American Championships in the long jump, behind Argentina’s Enrique Kistenmacher.

Vera then competed at the 1951 Pan American Games, where he was seventh in the long jump, ninth in the pole vault and did not start in the triple or high jump. He then made his second appearance at the Olympics at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he was eliminated in the qualifying round of the long jump and failed to finish the decathlon. He had much better luck the following year at the unofficial South American Championships, where he won the decathlon, and he was also third in the triple jump at the official 1956 edition. In-between, he competed at the 1955 Pan American Games, where he was fourth in the long and triple jumps and fifth in the decathlon, and was eliminated in the heats of the 100 metres.

Vera did not attend the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, but he did take part in the 1959 Pan American Games, coming in eighth in the long jump and 11th in the triple jump. He later moved to Venezuela and competed in master’s level tournaments, setting world records in the M50 triple jump category in 1979. He eventually settled in the United States.

Personal Bests: LJ – 7.49 (1955); TJ – 15.30 (1955); Dec – 6111 (1953).