| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Horacio Bernardo Guillermo Iglesias |
| Nickname(s) | Toto, Dorado |
| Nationality | Argentina |
| Born | April 29, 1942 Capital Federal, Argentina |
| Died | 2004-06-25 Capital Federal, Argentina |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Club | Gimnasia y Esgrima Buenos Aires |
Horacio Iglesias (April 29, 1942 - June 25, 2004) was an argentine swimmer that was five times World Champion in Professional Marathon Swimming (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973).
His full name was Horacio Bernardo Guillermo Iglesias. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and became Argentina’s great marathon swimmer. Beginning in 1965 and for a ten-year period, he won 28 professional races throughout South America, the United States, Canada and Italy. He was ranked first or second in all of his ten years on the marathon swimming circuit.
He was inducted as an honoree in the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2003.
He won the 24-hour La Tuque relay swim six times with three different partners, including Egypt’s Abou Heif and Holland’s Judith De Nys. He also won the 34K (21-mile) Traversée Internationale du Lac St-Jean[1] professional race in Canada in 8 hours and 55 minutes in 1967, in 9 hours and 31 minutes in 1968, in 9 hours and 32 minutes in 1969, in 8 hours and 39 minutes in 1971 with a second place in 1970, and excelled in the warm-water professional swims in South America. He won 37K (23-mile) Descente ou remontée du Saguenay in 6 hours and 3 minutes in 1967 and was fifth in 9 hours and 22 minutes in 1968.[2]
After retiring from competition, Horacio graduated university in 1969 as an electromechanical engineer.
After working 22 years as an advisor for other companies, he started his own company in 1992, Axsys Comunicaciones de Argentina, a fiber-optic installation company. He was married to Albina Valle and had three sons Luciano, Alvaro and Ramiro.[3]
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To help alleviate a small back problem, he started swimming at age seven at Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aries, one of the top clubs in his native Argentina.[4]
Horacio Iglesias’ beginnings in competitive swimming started with a bad sign, participating in a relay in which he had to swim breaststroke. By the time he got into the water his team was first in the competition, but by the time he arrived at the end of his race, his team ended last.
This bad beginning was a motivation for him to continue swimming and choosing a different stroke and specialty. He was national age-group champion in the 1500m, 800m and 400m freestyles and also swam butterfly on the national level. At the 1960 South American Championships in Cali, Colombia, he finished third in the 1500m freestyle and second as a member of the Argentina 4 x 200m freestyle relay. All the while he participated in local open water championships that were held in the Rio de la Plata river, winning 90 percent of the swims.
In 1965 he was ready to quit swimming and concentrate on his university studies when he decided to compete in one more open water championship, this time the 38-mile Sante Fe-Coronda Marathon.[5] He finished first, starting a career in which he won the World Professional Marathon title more times than any other competitor.
In the 1960s and 1970s there were two organizations that controlled marathon swimming, the International Long Distance Swimming Federation (ILDSF) and the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation (WPMSF). The ILDSF was controlled by former Egyptian General Zorkani and declared the World Championship to the swimmer who won the 18-mile Capri - Naples Swim. The WPMSF’s administrative secretary, Joe Grossman, tallied swimmers’ points earned by their placing at various marathon swims during the season. A world champion was declared based upon the total number of points earned. Competitors traveled on this circuit of races and attended swims in North and South America and Europe. Horacio was declared World Professional Marathon Champion a record five times (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973) and was Vice Champion during the in-between years (1968, 1970).
During the ten years in which he swam (1965–1974) he won 28 out of 44 professional races. He was a six-time winner of the La Tuque 24-Hour Swim (Quebec) in which a team of two swimmers alternated swimming a circular one-mile course for 24 hours in 22 degree C water. Partners included Egypt’s Abou Heif and Holland’s Judith De Nys among others. He was a four-time winner of the 25-mile Lac St Jean (Quebec) in 17 degree C water.
Some of his other swims include Sante Fe-Coronda, Argentina (38 mi., water 24 degrees C); Hernandarias-Parana, Argentina (55 mi., water 24 degrees C); Lago el Quilla, Argentina (10 mi., water 24 degrees C); Mar del Plata, Argentina (23 mi., water 18 degrees C); Chicoutimi, Canada (28 mi., water 15 degrees C); Trois-Rivières, Canada (10 mi., water 22 degrees C); Lac Simone, Canada (15 mi., water 15 degrees C); Newport - Block Island, USA (25 mi., water 18 degrees C); Marathon du Montreal, Canada (10 mi., water 24 degrees C); Utrecht, Holland (14 mi., 18 degrees C); and Capri - Naples, Italy (18 mi., 23 degrees C).
Horacio Iglesias was noted for his stamina and never quit attitude, and although he preferred warm water swimming, he could swim equally as well in cold water.
"It is like a kind of drug, this swimming. It hurts, but you don't want to stop. Maybe it is pride. If the others stay, you stay." He appeared thoughtful, smiled wanly and pointed to his head. "You will find in every marathon swimmer something wrong up here" he said.[6]
In 1972 he was elected among the best swimmers in Argentina to receive the “Olimplia de Plata” Award from the Círculo de Periodistas Deportivos.[7]
In 1973 he received the “Olimpia de Plata” Award for Swimming and was then elected among the top argentine athletes to received the “Olimpia de Oro” Award, winning over the popular boxing player and world championship candidate Carlos Monzon and becoming Athlete of the year for this recognition.
He was declared an Honor Marathon Swimmer at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA in 2003.