Juan "Papo" Franceschi (12 January 1947 – 20 October 1990),Globalization and Race: Transformations in the Cultural Production of Blackness. Kamari Maxine Clarke and Deborah A. Thomas, editors. Duke University Press. 2006. page 177. was a Puerto Rican track and field athlete from Ponce, Puerto Rico.Galería de Corso-Puertorriqueños Ilustres. Retrieved 24 April 2013. At 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games, where he secured a gold medal in the 400-meter dash break a new tournament record of 46.7 seconds and a bronze medal in the 4 × 400-meter relay. Franceschi placed fourth at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and represented Puerto Rico at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Following his tragic death in 1990, his legacy has been honored through numerous memorial sites, an annual 5K race in his hometown of Ponce, and posthumous inductions into both the Ponce Sports Hall of Fame and the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame.
Biography Juan "Papo" Franceschi was born in Barrio San Anton, Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 12 January 1947.Pista llevara el nombre de Papo Franceschi. Es Noticia. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 25 October - 7 November 2019. p. 15. Accessed 25 October 2019. Franceschi Vega was known as "El Bolido de San Antón". He was a cousin of Otoniel Velez Franceschi, and a track and field runner in Puerto Rico, participating in the 1966 X Juegos CAC Games where he won a gold medal in the 400 meters with a time of 46.7, a new record in the Games. He also won Bronze in the long relay ("relevo largo").Galería de Corso-Puertorriqueños Ilustres. Retrieved 24 April 2013. In 1967 he won fourth place at the Panamerican Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with a score of 46.09.El Atletismo en Puerto Rico. Carlos Uriarte Gonzalez. El Nuevo Dia. 4 January 1998. Retrieved 24 April 2013. He also competed in the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City.Puerto Rico at the Olympics: Selected Puerto Rican Results. Sports Encyclopedia. 2018. Accessed 29 March 2018. He was shot and killed on 20 October 1990 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and is buried at Camposanto Cristo Resucitado in Ponce. He was father to two sons and three daughters, Johnny Franceschi is one of his sons.A Escena el 1er Festival Deportivo Juan “Papo” Franceschi: Se Conmemora el 25to Aniversario del Maratón 5K Juan “Papo” Franceschi del Bo. San Antón de Ponce. Noticias Sur Puerto Rico. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
Awards In 2000, he was inducted in the Ponce Sports Hall of Fame.Corren 5K en honor a ‘Papo’ Franceschi. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2 April 2013. Accessed 29 March 2018. He is also recognized at Ponce's Parque de los Ponceños Ilustres in the area of sports.Sports. TravelPonce.com Retrieved 29 March 2018. In 2001, Franceschi became the 101st inductee in the Pabellón de la Fama del Deporte de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame).Pabellón de la Fama del Deporte Puertorriqueño. Pabellón de la Fama del Deporte Puertorriqueño. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
Legacy In Ponce's Barrio San Anton, there is street named after him.Scripts of Blackness: Race, Cultural Nationalism, and U.S. Colonialism in Puerto Rico. Isar P. Godreau. University of Illinois Press. 2015. p.54. Starting in 1988, his birth city has celebrated a 5K Marathon in his memory.Corren 5K en honor a ‘Papo’ Franceschi. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2 April 2013. Accessed 29 March 2018. Franceschi is honored at the Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens in Tricentennial Park in Ponce, Puerto Rico.Sports. TravelPonce.com Retrieved 24 April 2013.
International competitions Representing 1966Central American and Caribbean GamesSan Juan, Puerto Rico1st400 m46.773rd4 × 400 m relay3:10.31967Pan American GamesWinnipeg, Canada18th (h)200 m22.364th400 m46.326th4 × 100 m relay40.70Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsXalapa, Mexico2nd100 m10.62nd200 m21.61st400 m47.11968Olympic GamesMexico City, Mexico –200 mDNF1969Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsHavana, Cuba1st400 m47.01975Pan American GamesMexico City, Mexico13th (sf)400 m53.468th4 × 100 m relay39.805th4 × 400 m relay3:12.41
See also
List of Puerto Ricans Black history in Puerto Rico
References
External links