Arnoldo Devonish

Arnoldo Vicente Devonish Romero (June 15, 1932 – January 1, 1997) was a track and field athlete from Venezuela, who won the first Olympic medal for his native country from South America.

At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, he finished third in the Men's Triple Jump Final, with a distance of 15 metres and 52 centimetres, behind Adhemar da Silva (Brazil) and Leonid Shcherbakov (Soviet Union).

Devonish had little experience prior to his Olympic appearance in Helsinki, although he had won the triple jump at the Bolivarian Games the previous year. Devonish, who was also a decent hurdler, sprinter and long jumper, won another major international medal at the 1955 Pan American Games, finishing second to Brazilian Adhemar da Silva.

A dispute with the Venezuelan athletics federation left him suspended from international competition for several years, but he returned with two South American titles in 1961 and 1963. He quit active competition following the 1963 Pan American Games, and became a sports administrator. His death, after 18 months of illness, was mourned nationally, and his funeral was attended by president Rafael Caldera, who called him “a great Venezuelan”.

References

* [http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/de/asnoldo-devonish-1.html sports-reference]