Henry Rebello

Henry Rebello was introduced to athletics at the age of 16 when he became a student at Baldwin Boys’ High School in Bangalore. Even as a teenager he was mostly self-trained and relied on training manuals imported from Britain and America to progress as a jumper. Six months before the 1948 Olympics he emerged as a genuine medal prospect by jumping a national record of 15.29 to win the Indian national triple jump title in wet conditions in Lucknow. This combined with more impressive performances on arrival in England led former Olympic champion Harold Abrahams to choose him as one the favourites for the Olympic title. Rebello qualified easily for the Olympic final but his chances ended on his first attempt when he tore a hamstring on the hop phase and had to stretchered away from the landing area. He then joined the Indian Air Force but found he was unable to combine his athletic and military careers and drifted away from track and field. After 30 years’ service he retired in 1980 at the rank of Group Captain and later returned to sport as director of the Sports Authority of India

Personal Best: TJ – 15.29 (1948).