Rafael Vidal
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| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Swimming | |||
| Bronze | Los Angeles 1984 | 200m Butterfly | |
Rafael Antonio Vidal Castro (January 6, 1964 – February 12, 2005) was a Venezuelan swimmer and sports commentator. He was a native of Caracas, Venezuela.
At age 19, Vidal became the first Venezuelan swimmer to win an Olympic medal in the 200m butterfly competition in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Although he was the smallest man in the pool at 5-foot-6, Vidal was well ahead of West Germany's 6-foot-7 Michael Gross at the finish. However, one of Gross' elongated arms managed to touch the poolside first, robbing Vidal of silver. That heroic bronze-medal finish made him a national celebrity, with his image splashed on magazine and newspaper covers throughout Venezuela. His mark ranks him as the 8th of the top 10 swimmers in the 200m butterfly of all times.
A year later, Vidal left sports to pursue a career in administration and earned his master's degree in Computer Sciences from the University of Florida in Gainesville. After returning to Venezuela, he was employed by a local TV channel as a sports commentator and became a well-know TV personality.
Rafael Vidal died in Caracas, Venezuela on the early dawning morning of February 12, 2005 in a car crash with a Hummer truck. Roberto Detto, a 24-year old Venezuelan, has been charged. Javier Elechiguerra, lawyer of Vidal's family, accuses Detto of driving over the speed limit, and under the influence of cocaine according to the medical analysis done by the police at the time.[1] The athlete was 41 years of age when he died.
A "Million Meter Swim" (Un Millón de metros por Rafael Vidal) [2] was held on February 12, 2006, at which more than 14 million meters were swum by swimmers from Venezuela and around the globe.
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