Rafael A. Lecuona
| Rafael Argelio Lecuona | |
|---|---|
Rafael A. and Diana P. Lecuona (2010)
|
|
| Personal information | |
| Country represented |
 Cuba
|
| Born |
June 2, 1928 Havana, Cuba |
| Died |
June 7, 2014 (aged 86) |
| Residence | Laredo, Webb County, Texas |
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics |
| Years on national team | 1944–1955 |
June 7, 2014 (aged 86)
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Spouses:
(1) Joan Hagle Gates (divorced)
(2) Diana Picard Lecuona (surviving spouse)
Children from first marriage:
Mark Rafael Lecuona
Miguel Rafael Lecuona
Rafael Argelio Lecuona (June 2, 1928 – June 7, 2014) was from 1944 to 1955 a member of the Cuban gymnastics team and from 1970 to 2002 a political science professor at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. He competed in the Pan American Games in Buenos Aires (1951) and Mexico City (1955), in three consecutive Olympic Games from 1948 to 1956, and he was a member of the Florida State University men's gymnastics team from 1953 to 1956.
Lecuona was born in Havana to Josefina Asencio Diaz and Fernando Lecuona Casado. As a youth, he was an assistant cashier at the Romeo y Julieta cigar factory in Havana. His interest in athletics began as a youth involved in street sports. He was largely self-taught in gymnastics through his close study of a film of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. He made his own gymnastics equipment and became so skilled that he could enter international competition.He became a member of the Cuban gymnastics team in 1944 at the age of sixteen.
While at Florida State University in the capital city of Tallahassee, Florida, Lecuona was credited with being the first person to introduce into the United States the Russian Moor dismount from the pommel horse. At the 1951 Pan American Games, Lecuona won the gold medal in the pommel horse, as well as a silver medal in the men's all around rings, and vault. He also won a silver medal for his dismount on the pommel horse at the 1955 Pan American Games. Lecuona represented Cuba at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, England, the 1952 Games in Helsinki, Finland, and the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia. He ranked 29th among world gymnasts in 1955.
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