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Alberto Zorrilla

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Alberto Zorrilla
Personal information
Born(1906-04-06)April 6, 1906
Buenos Aires, Argentina
DiedApril 23, 1986(1986-04-23) (aged 80)
Miami, Florida, United States
Sport
SportSwimming
Medal record
Representing  Argentina
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1928 Amsterdam 400 m freestyle

Victoriano Alberto Zorrilla (April 6, 1906 – April 23, 1986) was an Argentine swimmer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics and in the 1928 Summer Olympics where he became the first South American to win an Olympic swimming gold medal.[1][2]

Zorrilla, aged just 18 years old, competed in Paris, France in the 1924 Summer Olympics, he entered in three events, in the 100 metres freestyle he finished 2nd behind Clayton Bourne from Canada in his opening heat[3] so qualified for the semi-finals, in the semi-final he finished sixth nearly seven seconds behind winner Johnny Weissmuller who broke the Olympic record,[4] in his other two events he didn't get past the heats, in the 400 metres freestyle he finished 4th,[5] and in the 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay he again finished 4th in the heat.[6]

Four years later he was competing in the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, he entered four events this time, in the 400 metres freestyle he won both his heat and semi-final, and then in the final he swam a time of 5:01.6 winning the gold medal and breaking the Olympic record which Johnny Weissmuller had set at the previous Olympics,[7] thus also becoming South America's first Olympic swimming gold medalist.[1] He also reached the finals in the 100 metres freestyle where he finished seventh,[8] and the 1500 metres freestyle where he finished fifth,[9] in his final event the 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay they finished last in there heat so didn't qualify for the final.[10] Alberto was the flag bearer for Argentina at the opening ceremony of the 1932 Summer Olympics but missed the competitions due to illness.[1]

He swam for the New York Athletic Club and in 1954 became a U.S citizen.[1]

He married an Icelander, Sonja Wendel Benjamínsson de Zorilla.[11] They became rich, at least partly through Wall Street investments, and later in life lived on Park Avenue, New York.[12]

He died in Miami, Florida two weeks after his 80th birthday.[13] He is buried in Iceland next to his wife Sonja.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Alberto Zorrilla (ARG)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Alberto Zorrilla". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1924 Paris Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1924 Paris Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle Semi-Finals". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  5. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1924 Paris Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Freestyle Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  6. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1924 Paris Summer Games: Men's 4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  7. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's 400 metres Freestyle Final". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  8. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Freestyle Final". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  9. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's 1,500 metres Freestyle Final". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  10. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's 4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Merkir Íslendingar – Sonja Zorilla" (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 2023-03-22.
  12. ^ Bjorgolfsson, Thor and Andrew Cave, Billions to Bust—And Back: How I Made, Lost and Rebuilt a Fortune, and What I Learned on the Way (London: Profile, 2014), pp. 21-22.
  13. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alberto Zorrilla, Bio". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Ólympíusögur, hlaðvarp RÚV 15. júlí 2024" (in Icelandic).
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