Michael George Raymond Agostini (23 January 1935 – 12 May 2016) was a Trinidadian

track and field 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 ...

athlete. He was the first athlete from his country to win a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at what is now known as the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, when he won the 100 yards final in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada, on 31 July 1954.

Early life

Michael Agostini was born on 23 January 1935 at

Port-of-Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

, Trinidad. He was of Corsican, according to other sources of Portuguese and Italian descent. His family had interests in sports: his father played football, his mother played hockey, and all his siblings participated in football and athletics events at St. Mary's College, where they studied.

Athletics career

Agostini participated in athletics, football, and boxing in his school days. In 1952, at Kingston, he defeated Jamaican sprinter

Herb McKenley The Hon. Herbert Henry McKenley OM (10 July 1922 – 26 November 2007) was a Jamaican track and field sprinter. He competed at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in six events in total, and won one gold and three silver medals. Born in Pleasant Valle ...

, who had won one gold and two silver medals at the

1952 Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

. On a scholarship, Agostini enrolled at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

, where he received training from Jumbo Elliott. On 23 January 1954, his 19th birthday, he set a world indoor record for over 100 yards at Washington, beating Olympic champion

Lindy Remigino Lindy John Remigino (June 3, 1931 – July 11, 2018) was an American track and field athlete, the 1952 Olympic 100 m champion. Life and career Remigino was born in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. He was named after aviator Charles Lindbergh. In 19 ...

. The same year, he competed in the

1954 Commonwealth Games The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. This was the fifth edition of the event that would eventually become known as the Commonwealth Games, the second post-war G ...

at Vancouver, Canada, and won gold in the 100 yards race (9.6). He defeated Canadian Don McFarlane (9.7) and Australian Hec Hogan (9.7), becoming the first athlete from Trinidad and Tobago to win gold at the Commonwealth Games. Hogan was then in the news for tying the world records of 100 yards (9.3) and 100 m (10.2) and was the most anticipated winner. Reports suggest that Hogan's performance was hampered after he was informed that Agostini had ironically stated in a pre-Games interview, "Who the heck is Hogan?" when questioned about him. In 1955 Agostini participated in the

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 ...

held in Mexico and won a silver and a bronze in the 100 m and 200 m races, respectively. He also won silver at the 1959 Chicago Pan American Games in the 100 m, a bronze in the 200 m, and another bronze in the 4 × 100 m relay. In the next Commonwealth Games at Cardiff in 1958, he stood third in the 100 yards run behind

Keith Gardner Keith Alvin Saint Hope Gardner (6 September 192925 May 2012) was a Jamaican athlete who competed in the 110 metre hurdles, 100 metres, 200 metres, and 400 metres, who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Biography In 1954, Gardner won a go ...

of Jamaica and

Tom Robinson Living people Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits " Glad to Be Gay", " 2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with hi ...

of Bahamas. Agostini won another gold in the 1959 British West Indies Championships in the 100 m and a bronze in the 200 m. Agostini had also represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Men's 100 m and Men's 200 m at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

, ranking 6th and 4th, respectively.

Post-retirement

Agostini retired from active sports in the late 1950s. He graduated with a degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

, California, in 1958. In the late 1950s Agostini moved to Australia and married Pamela, with whom he had two daughters and two sons. He received Australian citizenship in 1961. He coached various sprinters, including

Ralph Doubell Ralph Douglas Doubell AM (born 11 February 1945) is an Australian former athlete, and gold medallist at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Athletic career Doubell was born in Melbourne, was educated at Melbourne High School and graduated from the Univ ...

, Andrew Ratcliffe, Peter Vassella, and Jenny Lamy. He worked as a freelance journalist and as a teacher for a brief time, and also served as editor and publisher for ''Track and Field'' magazine in the mid-1960s. He edited numerous periodicals and authored nine books. In 2007, Mike Agostini was inducted into the

Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 as of the 2020 c ...

. In his later years, he suffered from

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

and

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. He died on 12 May 2016 of cancer in Sydney.

References

External links