Alberto Downey

Alberto Downey began his sports career as a cyclist. He won the 160 km qualifying race, also rated as the first Chilean cycling championship, on the velodrome at Cousiño Park (now renamed O’Higgins Park) in Santiago in April 1912. In the same year, he set a national record and won the 50 km championship. Subsequently, he became one of the pioneers of athletes promoting products by advertising Pepto-Kola Robin, a French tonic water. At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Downey placed 42nd in the individual road time trial, the best result of the Chilean riders; with the team, he placed ninth.

In 1914, Downey started boxing, which resulted in a short professional career. He was considered a scientific boxer following the English style and was called the “Chilean Carpentier”. In 1917, he claimed the vacant Chilean welterweight title, and in 1919, he lost the fight for the national middleweight title, his last documented fight. He won eight of his 13 fights and lost three; one was a draw and one a no-decision. In 1922, he was preparing for a comeback.