Henry Rebello

Born: 17 November 1928

Died: 27 August 2013

• He was an Indian triple jumper.
• He competed in India’s first independent Olympic appearance in 1948 in London.
• He retired as a Group Captain in 1980 from the Indian Air Force.
• He died on 27 August 2013, at age 84, following a lengthy illness.
• He emerged on the international scene as a sure-shot medal winner in the 1948 London Olympics in the next couple of years.
• But, great lives often go through tragic pain, and his fate was sealed in the finals due to an injury that struck him just when he was about to take flight.
• Old-timers still rue how India has robbed off a medal in the first Olympics, post Independence.
• That year, he was in peak form and he retained the national triple jump title with a new national record of 50 feet 2 inches, in January, a record which stood unchallenged for nearly a decade.
•  Recalling his performance, a modest he had said, “That performance was not only the best triple jump in Asia, it was also the best effort in 1948 by any triple jumper in the world.”   Coaches and commentators also hailed Rebello as the athlete to watch out for in the Olympics.
• John Metcalf who won the bronze medal in the 1936 Olympics and Olympic gold medallist Harold Abraham was sure that his form would be unbeatable in London.

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