Joaquín Capilla

Joaquín Capilla Pérez (born December 23, 1928 in Mexico City , † May 8, 2010 ) was a Mexican diver . He received a total of four medals at three Olympic Games.

Capilla won the bronze medal in high diving at the 1948 Olympic Games in London behind the Americans Samuel Lee and Bruce Harlan . He was the first Mexican diver to win an Olympic medal. In jumping he took fourth place behind three Americans.

In 1951 he won at the Pan American Games in Buenos Aires in both art and diving. He was able to repeat this double victory in his hometown in 1955. In Helsinki at the Olympic Games in 1952 , he was again fourth behind three Americans in jumping. From the tower he won silver behind Samuel Lee. Alberto Capilla , Joaquín's older brother, came fifth .

When he took part in the Olympics for the third time in 1956 in Melbourne , Joaquín Capilla won his first medal in jumping, behind the Americans Robert Clotworthy and Donald Harper he received the bronze medal. The year before, he had narrowly beaten Clotworthy in the Pan American Games. Joaquín Capilla won the Olympic gold medal from the tower ahead of Gary Tobian with a 0.03 point lead. The US team management lodged a protest against two judges, which was rejected.

In the civil profession of architect , Joaquín Capilla was considered to be the founder of the Mexican water diver tradition. Capilla was the first high diver to perform the three and a half pike somersault. In 1976 he was inducted into the international swimming sport hall of fame .

literature

• Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle II. London 1948 - Tokyo 1964. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-328-00740-7 .

Web links

• Joaquín Capilla in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Joaquin Capilla in the International Swimming Hall of Fame (English)