After finishing fifth in the 100y at the NCAA meet and third at the IC4A meet, and failing to quality for the finals at the AAU championships, Lindy Remigino surprisingly finished second to Art Bragg at the 1952 Final Olympic Trials. Remigino, a junior at Manhattan, then pulled an even more startling upset by taking the Olympic 100m title from Jamaica’s Herb McKenley in the closest race in Olympic sprint history. After winning a second gold medal in the relay, and a few post-Olympic meets in 1952, Remigino was not heard from again in top-class sprinting, but he maintained his interest in the sport and became one of the country’s most successful high school track coaches at Hartford High School in Connecticut. His teams there won 31 state titles and he guided 157 athletes to individual state championships. Remigino was named Lindy after Charles Lindbergh.
Personal Best: 100 – 10.4 (1952).
United States