View source for Rafael Vidal

{{Short description|Venezuelan swimmer (1964–2005)}}
{{family name hatnote|Vidal|Castro|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox swimmer
| name           = Rafael Vidal
| image          = 
| image_size     = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| alt            =
| caption        = 
| fullname       = Rafael Antonio Vidal Castro
| nicknames      =  
| national_team  = Venezuela
| strokes        = [[Butterfly swimming|Butterfly]], [[freestyle swimming|freestyle]]
| club           = 
| collegeteam    = [[Florida Gators swimming and diving|University of Florida]]
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1964|1|6|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Caracas, Venezuela]]
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|2005|2|12|1964|1|6|mf=y}}
| death_place    = [[Caracas, Venezuela]]
| height         = {{convert|1.80|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| weight         = {{convert|72|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport | Men's swimming}}
{{MedalCountry | Venezuela}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]] | [[Swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metre butterfly|200 m butterfly]]}} 
{{MedalCompetition | [[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1983 Pan American Games|1983 Caracas]] | [[Swimming at the 1983 Pan American Games|100 m butterfly]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1983 Pan American Games|1983 Caracas]] | [[Swimming at the 1983 Pan American Games|200 m butterfly]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1983 Pan American Games|1983 Caracas]] | [[Swimming at the 1983 Pan American Games|4×100 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1983 Pan American Games|1983 Caracas]] | [[Swimming at the 1983 Pan American Games|4×200 m freestyle]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1983 Pan American Games|1983 Caracas]] | [[Swimming at the 1983 Pan American Games|4×100 m medley]]}}
}}

'''Rafael Antonio Vidal Castro''' (January 6, 1964 – February 12, 2005) was a [[Venezuela]]n competition [[swimming (sport)|swimmer]], Olympic medalist and [[broadcasting|sports commentator]].

== Life ==
Vidal was born in [[Caracas, Venezuela]] in 1964. At age 20, he became the first Venezuelan swimmer to win an Olympic medal in the 200-meter [[butterfly stroke|butterfly]] competition at the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in Los Angeles, California. Although he was one of the smallest men in the pool at 5-foot-11, Vidal was well ahead of [[West Germany]]'s 6-foot-7 [[Michael Gross (swimmer)|Michael Gross]] at the finish. However, one of Gross' elongated arms managed to touch the poolside first, robbing Vidal of silver. That heroic bronze-medal finish made him a national celebrity, with his image splashed on magazine and newspaper covers throughout Venezuela. His mark ranks him as the eighth of the top ten swimmers in the 200-meter butterfly of all time.

A year later, Vidal left Venezuela to pursue a career in administration and earned his bachelor's degree in computer and information sciences from the [[University of Florida]] in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for the [[Florida Gators swimming and diving]] team in [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA) competition under coach [[Randy Reese]] from 1981 to 1985. Vidal was a member of the Gators' NCAA national championship teams in 1983 and 1984, and received six [[All-American]] honors.

After returning to Venezuela, Vidal was employed by a local television channel as a sports commentator and became a well-known television personality. In 1998, he founded Platinum with [[Cheche Vidal]], a pioneer in the application of marketing in Venezuela.

Early on the morning of February 12, 2005, Vidal was killed in a traffic accident when another driver crashed his speeding [[Hummer]] into Vidal's car.<ref name=uluniversal01012009>"[http://www.eluniversal.com/aniversario/100/en_ca10_art_rafael-vidal-wins-a_01A2252429.shtml  1984: Rafael Vidal wins a bronze medal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111165139/http://www.eluniversal.com/aniversario/100/en_ca10_art_rafael-vidal-wins-a_01A2252429.shtml |date=2012-01-11 }}," ''El Universal'' (January 1, 2009).  Retrieved November 5, 2011.</ref> The second driver was participating in an illegal street race.<ref name=uluniversal01012009/> Vidal was 41 years old.

A "Million Meter Swim" (Un Millón de metros por Rafael Vidal) was held on February 12, 2006, at which more than fourteen million meters were swum by swimmers from Venezuela and around the globe. The tribute has been held every year since then. 

== Personal life ==
On April 10 2017 his mother Flor Marina Castro de Vidal was found dead in her home by her daughter, apparently murdered by house thieves when she resisted robbery.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

== See also ==
* [[Florida Gators]]
* [[List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)]]
* [[List of University of Florida alumni]]
* [[List of University of Florida Olympians]]
* {{ill|Polideportivo Rafael Vidal|es}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Footer CAC Champions 1500m Freestyle Men}}
{{Footer CAC Champions 100m Butterfly Men}}
{{Footer CAC Champions 200m Butterfly Men}}
{{Footer CAC Champions 4x100m Freestyle Men}}
{{Footer CAC Champions 4x200m Freestyle Men}}
{{Footer CAC Champions 4x100m Medley Men}}
{{Venezuela athletes winners at the Olympics Games}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Rafael}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:Florida Gators men's swimmers]]
[[Category:Venezuelan expatriate swimmers in the United States]]
[[Category:Male butterfly swimmers]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Venezuela]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists in swimming]]
[[Category:Olympic swimmers for Venezuela]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in Venezuela]]
[[Category:Swimmers from Caracas]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1983 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for Venezuela]]
[[Category:Pan American Games swimmers for Venezuela]]
[[Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists in swimming]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games]]
[[Category:Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Venezuela]]
[[Category:Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in swimming]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen]]
[[Category:Venezuelan male swimmers]]