Angelita Lind Soliveras a.k.a. "The Angel of Puerto Rico" (born January 13, 1959) is a Puerto Rican

track and field athlete Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

Early years

Lind was born in the barrio Marin Bajo of

Patillas, Puerto Rico Patillas (, ) is a beach town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southeastern coast, south of San Lorenzo; west of Yabucoa and Maunabo; and east of Guayama and Arroyo. It is spread over 15 barrios and Patillas Pueblo (the downto ...

into a poor family. She received her primary and secondary education in her hometown. Lind first participated in track and field events in the 7th grade and later continued participating for her high school. However, it wasn't until she became a student at the

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has ...

that she was asked by the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee to represent Puerto Rico in international sports events.profile

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International competitions

Lind has represented the island and participated in three

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...

(CAC) and won two

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

medals, three

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

medals and one

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

medal. She also participated in three

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

and in the

1984 Olympics The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

celebrated in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In the CAC of 1982, celebrated in

Havana, Cuba 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.Puerto Rican flag The flag of Puerto Rico (), officially the Flag of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (), represents Puerto Rico and its people. It consists of five equal horizontal stripes, alternating from red to white, with a blue equilateral triangle based ...

. In those games, she won a gold medal in the 1,500 meter dash with a record time of 4:25.88 and a silver in the 800 meters dash in a controversial race in 2:04.24. In that race, she crossed the finish line with two

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

runners next to her. Right at the finish line the two Cuban girls ran into each other and they both knocked Angelita down. Lind's feet were crossing the finish line, but because the Cuban fell into Angelita from behind, it was the Cuban who actually crossed the finish line first; after a prolonged discussion which reached the central offices of the International Athletic Federation, it was decided that Lind arrived second. They based their decision on a rule of track and field which states that the first torso across the finish line wins. By this time there had been a lot of trouble between the

Government of Puerto Rico The government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, organized under the Constitution of Puerto Rico since 1952, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal Government of the United States. Under a system of separation of powers, the ...

, headed by pro-US statehood governor

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He als ...

, (who withheld economic support from the athletic delegation headed to Cuba), and the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee, presided by German Rieckehoff, which had to appeal directly to the people for donations. Lind's "fall" united the people of Puerto Rico and for the first time, they forgot about the fight between the Olympic Committee and the government and concentrated on the sport - these events also served to inspire future runners.

World Masters Athletics

Angelita Lind officially retired in 1992, however in July 2003 at age 44, she returned to participate in the 1,500 dash in the

World Masters Athletics World Masters Athletics (WMA) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of masters athletics – which includes track and field, cross country, and road running events – as participated by people over 35 years of age. As the need became ...

championships, which were celebrated in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. She continues to hold the national record for the 800 meters dash and the 1,500 meters dash.

Later years

She earned her master's degree from the

and is currently a professor of

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

. Lind also serves as assistant athletic director in the department of physical education at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico campus in San German, Puerto Rico. In 2004, she was inducted into the "Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame".

Competition record

¹Did not finish in the final
²Representing the Americas
³Did not start in the final

References

External links

profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lind, Angelita 1959 births Living people People from Patillas, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican female sprinters Pan American Games track and field athletes for Puerto Rico Olympic track and field athletes for Puerto Rico Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Puerto Rico Competitors at the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni 21st-century American women 20th-century American sportswomen