George James GUIDA

George Guida was one of eight children of an Italian immigrant father and a mother of Italian descent. He was AAU indoor champion at 600y in 1947. Outdoors, he finished third in the AAU 400 in 1947 and third in the 200 in 1943 and 1945. At the NCAA Meet he was fifth in the 400 for Villanova University in 1948. Guida served in the Navy during World War II, interrupting his time at Villanova. At the 1948 Olympics Guida became friendly with Irish runner Jimmy Reardon. Guida encouraged him to run track at Villanova and Reardon earned a track scholarship there, starting the long line of Irish athletes who would run for Villanova, including Ronnie Delany, Eamonn Coghlan, Marcus O’Sullivan, and Sonia O’Sullivan.

Personal Bests: 220y – 21.4 (1949); 440y – 46.9 (1949).