14 Facts About Silvio Leonard

Silvio Leonard was successful in the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games winning the 100 and 200 metres double.

Silvio Leonard came to the attention of the world when he equalled the then world record for a 100 metres with a hand-timing of 9.9 s on 5 June 1975 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia.

When winning the title in 1975 he suffered a calamity that could seem comical if it were not for the fact that the outcome for Silvio Leonard could have been even worse.

Silvio Leonard did recover in time to compete at the 1976 Montreal Olympics but there suffered another misfortune.

Silvio Leonard cut his left leg on broken glass in the Olympic Village.

Leonard had good speed endurance which he proved when he was the fastest in the world that year in the 200 metres with a time of 20.08 s At the inaugural Athletics World Cup that year, Leonard won bronze in both the 100 and 200 metres whilst representing the Americas.

Silvio Leonard won the 1977 100-metre Gold at the World Student Games.

Silvio Leonard was Cuban champion and won the Soviet 100 metres championship that year.

At the 1980 Summer Olympics Silvio Leonard won a silver medal in 100 metres, finishing behind Allan Wells of Great Britain.

Silvio Leonard then went on to finish 4th in the Olympic 200 metres final in a time of 20.30, narrowly missing out on another medal.

Silvio Leonard was never a factor at world level after the 1980 season and disappointingly there has been no legacy of world-class Cuban sprinters to follow him and his 100 and 200 metres bests are still Cuban records.

Silvio Leonard retired in 1985 and is reportedly now a track coach.

Silvio Leonard was ranked among the best in the world in both the 100 and 200 m sprint events over the incredible spread of 8 seasons from 1973 to 1980, according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.

In 2003, Silvio Leonard was inducted into the Central American and Caribbean Athletics Hall of Fame.