The Henry Andrade Olympic Story

Henry Andrade, a dual citizen with residency in the United States and ancestry in Cape Verde is a first class athlete. I had the pleasure of meeting Henry on at least four occasions. It is a pleasure to include his story on the Kid's Talk Radio Summertime Olympic Story Page.

A competitor in every sense of the word, Andrade began his quest for gold at the early age of eight. By thirteen, Andrade experienced his first sweet taste of victory by becoming a record holder in ther Junior Olympic games. From that point, Henry's record-breaking episodes continued to ascend. In fact, Andrade's chronicle contains quite an impressive list of acquisitions. In 1985 he became one of only three hurdlers in the history of NCAA competitions to win both the indoor and outdoor championships. Andrade is now a two-time NCAA champion, a six-time All-American, and is holder of the African record in the 110-meter High Hurdles. In addition to his remarkable feats in track and field, Andrade also found time to dazzle college fans with his football skills. To such an extent that, when he compeleted college in May of 1985, he was offered a free-agent contract with the San Diego Chargers. Although the offer was enticing, Henry opted to decline to pursue his track-and-field career. He did, however, play for the N.Y. Giants during the fall of 1987. Andrade has set three major goals for his life: playing Pro-Football, running in the Olympics, and graduating from college. He has managed to execute two of these three goals through his diligence and focus as well as the constant support of family and friends. Henry has never used obstacles as a reason for quitting or giving up. Nor has he let them impede him from pursuing his goals. This same attitude prevails as Henry faces one of the greatest challenges of his career; gaining Olympic funding. As a newcomer to the Olympic competition, he has not been afforded the financial resources to sustain full-time training. In a self-promoted effort, along with rigorous training, Andrade works a full-time job and attends graduate school in th evening at California State University, Long Beach. As an aid, an Olympic Development Fund has been established on Andrades' behalf to which private citizens can contribute.

Andrade is a national hero in his ancestral land of Cape Verde. His participation in the Olympics will bring international attention to this little known republic off the west coast of Africa. However, not even the taste of victory will equal the intrinsic value of his competing in the Olympic games; this will propel him further than any finish line. In 1996, beating all the odds, Henry Andrade will be recognized as one man running for a whole nation.