Enrique Alberdi

Enrique Alberdi was an IOC Member but in sports is best remembered as one of the greatest ever Argentine polo players. He first won the National Handicap Championship in 1930-31 and 1933-34, and in 1934 won the Copa Cámara de Diputados and the first of his 12 Argentine Open Championships. He won the Open on seven occasions with the crack Venado Tuerto team, four times with Coronel Suarez and once with Tortugas. In 1944 he became a 10-goal player, the highest level in polo. Quito, as he was known, always wore number 3, and was the captain of every team he played on. He led Argentina’s winning teams at the 1949 World Championships, the 1950 Cup of the Americas, and the 1951 Pan American Games. He was selected for the Argentina’s 1936 Olympic team but missed the tournament due to a throat infection, and was replaced by Andres Gazzotti.

In sports administration Alberdi was elected President of the Argentine Polo Association 1949-52. He served for many years on the Argentine Olympic Committee, and was co-opted onto the IOC in July 1952, serving until his death in 1959 in an airplane crash.