Al Cantello

Al Cantello
Personal information
Born	June 9, 1931
Died	January 17, 2024 (aged 92)
Occupation(s)	United States Naval Academy cross country and track coach
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Sport
College team	La Salle University
Medal record
Men's athletics
Pan American Games

Albert Anthony Cantello (June 9, 1931 – January 17, 2024) was an American javelin thrower as a member of the United States Marine Corps. He was the coach of the men's distance running program at the United States Naval Academy from 1963 to 2018.

Biography

Cantello graduated from La Salle University in Philadelphia in 1955. While at La Salle, Cantello was twice named to the Track and Field All-American team. He won the javelin contest at four straight Mid-Atlantic Conference Track and Field Championships and three times won the javelin toss at the Penn Relays.

In 1959, he set the world record in the javelin and won the bronze medal at the 1959 Pan American Games and made the US Olympic team for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Despite having the second longest throw (79.72m) in the games during the qualifying rounds, he finished tenth (with an official throw of 74.7m). Cantello won the AAU title in 1959 and 1960 and held a world ranking of No. 4 for both years. In 1964, Sport magazine named Cantello to its all-time track and field team and voted him the world's greatest competitor in the javelin. He was known for his form, in which he would throw his whole body into the throw and end in a semi-handstand.^[1] His personal best throw, with the old javelin type, was 86.04 metres, achieved in June 1959 in Compton.^[2]

1960 Summer Olympics

In 1959, Cantello (who was serving as a lieutanant in the US Marine Corps) was approached by a US intelligence agent who asked him to facilitate meetings at the upcoming Rome Olympics between agents and potential defectors from Soviet and Eastern Bloc countries. Cantello made an introduction between a CIA agent and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, a Ukrainian long jumper who had been identified as a potential defector. ^[3] Ter-Ovanesyan never ended up attempting to defect.^[4]

Coaching career

Cantello coached at the United States Naval Academy for more than 50 years where he was named NCAA Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year three times. He retired in 2018.

In 2013 Cantello was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Coaches Hall of Fame along with Ron Allice, Dennis Craddock, Jim Hunt, Curtis Frye, and Paul Olsen.^[5]

Cantello died on January 17, 2024, at the age of 92.^[6]

References

^ Cantello-style of throwing (with a picture)
^ World men's all-time best old javelin (last updated 2001)
^ Ofgang, Erik. "At the 1960 Olympics, American Athletes Recruited by the CIA Tried to Convince Their Soviet Peers to Defect". Smithsonian Magazine.
^ Bull, Andy (May 17, 2020). "Olympic espionage: US sprinter Dave Sime, the CIA and the 1960 Games". The Guardian.
^ Kyle Terwillegar (December 16, 2013). "USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Class of 2013 Inducted at Annual Convention". USTFCCCA Website. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
^ La Salle Athletics Mourns Loss of Hall of Athletes Inductee & Track & Field Standout Al Cantello '55

External links

[1] Cantello-style of throwing (with a picture)

[2] World men's all-time best old javelin (last updated 2001)

[3] Ofgang, Erik. "At the 1960 Olympics, American Athletes Recruited by the CIA Tried to Convince Their Soviet Peers to Defect". Smithsonian Magazine.

[4] Bull, Andy (May 17, 2020). "Olympic espionage: US sprinter Dave Sime, the CIA and the 1960 Games". The Guardian.

[5] Kyle Terwillegar (December 16, 2013). "USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Class of 2013 Inducted at Annual Convention". USTFCCCA Website. Retrieved January 14, 2014.

[6] La Salle Athletics Mourns Loss of Hall of Athletes Inductee & Track & Field Standout Al Cantello '55

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v t e US National Championship winners in men's javelin throw
1909–1979 Amateur Athletic Union	1909: Ralph Rose 1910: Bruno Brodd 1911: Ollie Snedigar 1912: Harry Lott 1913: Bruno Brodd 1914–19: George Bronder 1920–21: Milton Angier 1922: Flint Hanner 1923: Harry Hoffman 1924: John Leyden 1925: Zeke Bonura 1926: John Kuck 1927: Charles Harlow 1928: Creth Hines 1929: Jess Mortensen 1930–31: James DeMers 1932: Malcolm Metcalf^Note 1933: Lee Bartlett 1934: Ralston LeGore 1935: Horace Odell 1936: John Mottram 1937: William Reitz 1938: Nick Vukmanic 1939–42: Boyd Brown 1943–44: Martin Biles 1945: Earl Marshall 1946: Garland Adair 1947–48: Steve Seymour 1949: Bud Held 1950: Steve Seymour 1951: Bud Held 1952: Bill Miller 1953–55: Bud Held 1956: Cy Young 1957: Bob Voiles 1958: Bud Held 1959–60: Al Cantello 1961: John Fromm 1962: Dan Studney 1963: Larry Stuart 1964: Frank Covelli 1965: Bill Floerke 1966: John Tushaus 1967: Delmon McNabb 1968: Frank Covelli 1969: Mark Murro 1970–71: Bill Skinner 1972: Fred Luke 1973: Cary Feldmann 1974: Sam Colson 1975: Richard George 1976: Fred Luke 1977: Bruce Kennedy 1978: Bill Schmidt 1979: Duncan Atwood
1980–1992 The Athletics Congress	1980: Duncan Atwood 1981: Bruce Kennedy 1982: Bob Roggy 1983: Rod Ewaliko 1984: Curt Ransford 1985–86: Tom Petranoff 1987: Duncan Atwood 1988: Dave Stephens 1989: Mike Barnett 1990: Vince Labosky 1991: Mike Barnett 1992: Tom Pukstys
1993–onwards USA Track & Field	1993: Tom Pukstys 1994: Todd Riech 1995: Tom Pukstys 1996: Todd Riech 1997–99: Tom Pukstys 2000–07: Breaux Greer 2008: Bobby Smith 2009: Chris Hill 2010: Sean Furey 2011: Mike Hazle 2012: Sam Humphreys 2013: Riley Dolezal 2014–15: Sean Furey 2016: Cyrus Hostetler 2017: Riley Dolezal 2018: Curtis Thompson 2019: Michael Shuey 2021^{2020 OT}: Curtis Thompson 2022: Ethan Dabbs 2023-25: Curtis Thompson
Olympic Trials	The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event. 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notes	Kenneth Churchill had the longest throw in the 1932 competition (which doubled as the Olympic Trials), ahead of Malcolm Metcalf. However, Churchill qualified for the final only due to a late rule change by the U.S. Olympic Committee, allowing eight rather than five finalists. As this rule change applied only to the Olympic Trials, Churchill is considered to have won at the Trials and Metcalf at the national championships, even though they were the same meet.

v t e 1960 USA Olympic track and field team
Men's track and road athletes	John Allen Jim Beatty Alex Breckenridge Frank Budd Dyrol Burleson Lee Calhoun Les Carney Pete Close Phil Coleman Ernie Cunliffe Cliff Cushman Glenn Davis Otis Davis Bill Dellinger Jim Grelle Rudy Haluza Dick Howard Stone Johnson Deacon Jones Hayes Jones John J. Kelley Ron Laird Bruce MacDonald Willie May Gordon McKenzie Bob Mimm Tom Murphy Ray Norton Jerry Siebert Dave Sime Bob Soth Max Truex Jack Yerman Earl Young George Young Ron Zinn
Men's field athletes	William Alley Rink Babka Ed Bagdonas Terry Beucher Ralph Boston Don Bragg Al Cantello Dave Clark Dick Cochran Hal Connolly Ira Davis Charles Dumas Dave Edstrom Joe Faust Al Hall Rafer Johnson Dallas Long Ron Morris Phil Mulkey Bill Nieder Parry O'Brien Al Oerter Bo Roberson Bill Sharpe Herman Stokes John Thomas Anthony Watson
Women's track athletes	Shirley Crowder Pat Daniels Martha Hudson Barbara Jones Ernestine Pollards Irene Robertson Wilma Rudolph Jo Ann Terry Lucinda Williams
Women's field athletes	Karen Anderson Barbara Brown Earlene Brown Olga Connolly Jean Gaertner Pamela Kurrell Neomia Rogers Annie Smith Willye White
Coaches	Larry Snyder (head coach) George Eastment (assistant coach) Ralph Higgins (assistant coach) Lloyd "Bud" Winter (assistant coach) Ed Temple (women's head coach) Fran Welch (women's field event coach)