?Michael Agostini was inducted into Villanova University's Hall Of Fame some years ago the CIC Hall Of Fame committee has done the same, recognising what a truly remarkable athlete he was. In addition he was a remarkable personality, representing his country as ambassador to Australia and the author of an interesting book. Michael Agostini was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom were high class athletes and he was the shortest, so that one would not have expected him to be a high calibre, international sprinter. He demonstrated his quality from early days at St Mary's College, winning the Victor Ludorum title at every age-group. He was also a footballer, representing CIC in the Intercol in 1950, one of eight consecutive years that the Saints won this emblem of supremacy between the top schools in Port-of-Spain.
He had a shot at boxing but sprinting was his game. He first shocked the world when he went to Jamaica in 1952 and defeated Herb McKinley, soon after McKinley had won gold and silver in the sprints at the Olympic Games. As a result, he received scholarship offers from several American Universities and continued his dazzling performance by equalling the junior world sprint record when he ran 9.6 in the 100 yards in Jamaica, leaving in his wake no less a man than Andy Stanfield, the Olympic 200 metres champion. He won gold at the British Empire (now Commonwealth) Games in Canada in 1954, the first T&T athlete to win gold at these games. He graduated from Villanova with a degree in Economics in 1958 and will be remembered as the first person from T&T to study in the USA on an athletics scholarship.
He was also T&T's first Olympics double sprint finalist when he placed sixth and fourth in the 100 and 200 metres in Melbourne in 1956. He is one of T&T's most prolific Pan Am Games medallists, winning five medals in two games in Mexico City (1955) and Chicago (1959), respectively. He continued in top class athletics for six more years running in two Olympic Games finals and winning Pan American Games medals. He had migrated to Australia before his retirement from competitive athletics and in addition to being the Honorary Consul for T&T, he became a successful author. Agostini is the latest, interesting inductee into St Mary's College Hall Of Fame.
