Charles Borromeo

Background

Charles Borromeo was born on 1 December 1958 in the town of Devakottai, located in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Career

He was awarded Arjuna Award in 1982 for winning gold at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi at a record time of 1:46:81 seconds in India. His represented India in the 1984 Summer Olympics at Los Los Angeles After retirement, he continued to work in developing sports at the national level in India.

He served as the National Sports Director of Special Olympics Bharat, a programme run by the Special Olympics International in India.

He did his schooling in Muthathal Middle School and De Britto Hr. Secretary School, Devakottai.

He moved to Ahmedabad for college, graduating from Saint Xavier"s College. Even while at college, his passion and ability for sports earned him the Best Sportsman Award.

His record time at the Inter-University Meet in 1978 provided him a ticket to the international arena, to represent the Indian universities at the World University Games in Mexico in 1979.

Borromeo later joined Tata Steel as Sports Assistant in 1979 and participated in a number of track and field meets. In 1982 he rose to the limelight. He was the first Indian to break the sub-1:47 seconds time in India.

In 1984 Tata honored him as the Best Sportsman.

He represented India at the 1984 Summer Olympics at Los Los Angeles He was eliminated in the first round after finishing fifth with a time of 1:51.52.

Borromeo was the captain of the Indian team at the Asian Track and Field meet in Jakarta and the 1985 South Asian Federation Games in Dhaka. He retired as an athlete in 1986 at the age of 28, after experiencing recurring knee problems.

He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1982 and the Padma Shri in 1984 by the Government of India.

Borromeo has been involved with Special Olympics. He became the National Sports Director of the Special Olympics Bharat, the Indian arm of the Special Olympics International focussing on the development of sports for the mentally retarded people. He served the sports federation till 2005.

Achievements

• His time in the limelight may be short, yet his efforts won him the prestigious Padma Shri civilian award in India in 1984. He topped the six-nation Athletic Meet in Mumbai, winning the Inter-State Championship at Kozhikode and won the Gold at the Pakistan National Games at Peshawar. He won a Bronze at the Peking International Games in China and toured Germany representing the Indian athletic team At the 1982 Asian Games at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, he represented India and won the 800m gold with a record time of 1:46:81 seconds (by an Indian in India). He was the first Tata employee to win a Gold in the Asian Games. Borromeo ater represented India at a number of track and field meets around the world, including Japan and China, where he again won gold. He won silver in both the meets.