Mexico City- “Chabelo”, the friend of all children, could well have shone in Helsinki 1952, but the lack of financial support and the obstacles of managers cut short his Olympic dream.
Xavier López, who passed away at the age of 88, was 17 when he began to excel in Greco-Roman welterweight wrestling. His bulk and stature were in his favor, so much so that he defeated more veteran fighters.
The actor, comedian and television presenter became a national champion and got his ticket to the Olympic fair, but a manager revealed to him that there were no resources and that it was necessary to pay around 40,000 pesos, otherwise he would not be able to present Mexico.
“Chabelo” had defeated a rival seven years older, who ended up making the trip.
“Not being able to attend hurt me a lot, to the degree that I have not been able to overcome it,” he said in an interview he gave to the Excelsior newspaper 15 years ago.
“I cried a lot those days, because they never told me that you had to win the ticket and have a lot of money for expenses. That man called me again before the trip and told me that if there was no wool, there were no games. To the 24-year-old competitor , the one I defeated the good one, they gave him my place”.
Antonio Rosado García was the one who took Xavier’s place. He lost to an American and an Argentine, for which he did not advance to the next round, while in Mexico, Xavier López was devastated.
After the disappointment, Xavier focused on studying. He attended high school and later his life path led him to become a Surgeon at UNAM, a house of studies that also opened its doors to him in high school to play football as a defensive tackle.
