In Memoriam: Alberto Valdés Ramos

Alberto Valdés Ramos, Olympic team gold medallist at the London 1948 Games, has died at the age of 93.

He was the oldest surviving member of Mexico’s 1948 Jumping “dream team”. His fellow team mates were Humberto Mariles, who also won individual gold – a feat unequalled by any other Mexican sportsman at the time – and Ruben Uriza, who added individual silver to the team gold.

The day the trio claimed team gold was unforgettable for Mexican sports, and especially for Valdés who received news by telegram that his daughter had been born just before he competed in the Empire Stadium, now known as Wembley Stadium.

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Equestrianism became a way of life for Valdés at the age of 10, after he moved to Paris with his father who had been appointed military attaché to the Mexican Embassy.

Valdés was part of a generation of accomplished Mexican riders who won major competitions in the United States, Canada and Europe, and he passed on his talent to his son Alberto Valdés Lacarra, who won team bronze at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.

Valdés inspired many future athletes, and particularly equestrian athletes, when he was a torch bearer at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara at the age of 92. He passed the torch to diver Paola Espinosa, a fellow Olympian, who descended on wires from the roof of the Omnilife stadium to light the Pan-American cauldron.

The FEI expresses its sincere condolences to Alberto Valdés Ramos’ family and friends, to the Mexican Equestrian Federation and the international Jumping community.

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