Posted: June 30, 2006

Athletics: Helio Rico obituary

INDIANAPOLIS -- Heliodoro Rico, a longtime track and field official, meet director, committee chair and a retired judge from New York State, died on Thursday morning. He resided in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., with his wife Patricia, a former president of USA Track & Field.

A senior administrative law judge for the State of New York for many years and former track club and high school coach, Rico served as chairman of the rules of committee of USA Track & Field's predecessor organization, The Athletics Congress, from 1980-1988 and was a member of the AAU/TAC board of directors from 1979 to 1988. For the last eight years, Rico served as the screening committee chair for the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.

The president of the Metropolitan Association of the AAU from 1962-1965, he was also a past chairman of the Metropolitan Association Track & Field Committee for six years and conducted roughly 30 track and field meets a year. In 2000, Rico was the recipient of USA Track & Field's Robert Giegengack Award, presented annually by the USATF Board of Directors to a person "who excels in contributing to the excellence and high standards of the sport." He was one of the inaugural recipients of a USATF President's Award in 1980. Presented by the USATF President, the award was bestowed on Rico in recognition of his service to track & field.

Rico served as a manager for U.S. national track and field teams at the 1983 Pan American Games in Brazil, the 1987 World Outdoor Championships in Rome, and for meets in the Soviet Union, Poland and England. He was chef of the mission for the U.S. team in Europe in 1977.

He served as the meet director of the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in New York from 1979-1993 and for a number of years after the Championships moved to Atlanta in 1994. He is a graduate of New York University, and he has LLB and LLM law degrees.

"When I attended my first AAU annual meetings in the mid-70s, Helio was there," said USATF President Bill Roe. "When I attended the pivotal meetings of the 1979-1980 change-over era, Helio was there. When I attended my first governance and rules meetings, Helio was not only there, but -- in the latter case -- he was the chair. I will miss him greatly. I know all of our thoughts and prayers are with Pat and the family."

"Helio Rico was a ground breaking pioneer in our sport as a coach, writer, meet director, official, and administrator," said USATF CEO Craig Masback. "His generosity of spirit and passion for our sport have touched us all and will continue to inspire us."

Roe and Masback recognized the accomplishments of Helio and Pat Rico earlier this month when they announced to the USATF Board of Directors that the Pacesetter Award, given at the organization's annual meeting, would be renamed the "Heliodoro and Patricia Rico Lifetime Achievement Award, to recognize their combined impact on the sport.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Comment on this story.

Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest