Manuel Andrada
Manuel Andrada (January 9, 1890 – 1962) was an Argentine nine-goal polo player who won the gold medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Olympic medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Men's polo | ||
1936 Berlin | Team competition |
Early life
Manuel Andrada was born in 1890 on an estancia in Curumalal near Coronel Suárez, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.[1][2] He worked as a horse trainer and later took up polo.[3]
Polo career
He was a nine-goaler.[2] His team won the Pacific Coast Polo Championship in 1930.[1][2] The following year, in 1931, he was on the winning team of the U.S. Open Polo Championship.[1][2] Moreover, his team won the Campeonato Argentino Abierto de Polo in 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1938 and 1939.[1]
He was part of the Argentine polo team, which won the gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[2][4] He played both matches in the tournament, the first against Mexico and the final against Great Britain.[4] He was the oldest sportsman to receive an Olympic gold medal according to the Guinness World Records.[2]
He was nicknamed "Paisano" (′peasant′).[1] He has been called, "the first Argentine-born star player" by polo historian Horace Laffaye.[2]
Personal life
He had three sons: Manuel, Oscar and Eduardo.[1]
Legacy
His descendants own the Paisano Polo Club in Río Cuarto, Córdoba Province, Argentina.[3]
References
- Horace A. Laffaye, Polo in Argentina: A History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. 2014. pp. 203-205
- Horace A. Laffaye, The Polo Encyclopedia, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2004, p. 11
- Paisano Polo Club
- DatabaseOlympics Archived 2007-02-09 at the Wayback Machine