By Lori Riley (Hartford Courant)
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It only took 10.4 seconds for Lindy Remigino to win the gold medal in the 100 meters at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.
But what Remigino, who died July 11 at age 87, did with those 10.4 seconds for the next 60-plus years defined his life and the lives of many others.
"It was his greatest athletic feat, but not the greatest achievement of his life," his grandson Thomas Geer said Monday at Remigino's funeral. "His great feats can be seen in the countless athletes he inspired.
"He leveraged those 10 seconds, which is so short of a time, the next 40 years at Hartford Public High School to inspire kids who really needed inspiring. He had five wonderful children, who went into careers in education, coaching, the Navy. They were inspired by those 10 seconds as well."
Pablo Franco, one of Lindy's greatest sprinters who went on to run and play football at the University of Washington, was at Remigino's funeral Monday.
"I grew up in the inner city, on Park Street — so for me to go to college was out of touch, it wasn't going to happen," said Franco, who graduated from Hartford Public in 1973. "But Lindy, with his discipline and his love and care, he changed that for me. He got me thinking about school, staying away from drugs, working hard in the classroom. By the time I was a senior, I got a scholarship. If it wasn't for Lindy, I wouldn't be here. I'd probably be in jail or a dropout or something."
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