Anatol was also a talented sprinter who won the 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay events at the of the Spanish Athletics Championships; however, as he had documentation as a French national (his father was from the French Basque Country although Manuel had lived in Spain all his life up to that point) the wins were awarded to the runners-up instead, and remain as such in the records. He subsequently competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics under the name "M. A. Aristegui" which may have been an administrative error due to Spanish naming customs, or a subtle attempt by him to conceal his identity from either the athletics organisers or the management at his football club. He did not progress past the opening heats of the 400 metres event.