Carlos Girón

Carlos Girón honed his diving skills off the famous high-diving cliffs at La Quebrada, Acapulco. It was after moving to live in Mexico City that he underwent formal diving training and, in 1972, as a 17-year-old, he and his fellow competitors shouldered the responsibility of reviving the fortunes of Mexican diving not see since the likes of Juan Botella, Joaquín Capilla and Álvaro Gaxiola.

Despite not winning a medal, Girón had top 10 finishes in both springboard and platform events, which he repeated in 1976. His greatest moment, however, came at Moskva in 1980 when he had the honour of being the Mexican flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony, and followed that by winning a springboard silver and finishing fourth in the platform event. His success inspired a new generation of Mexican divers such as 1988 Seoul bronze medalist Jesús Mena.

Girón went on to appear in a fourth Olympics in 1984; his medal list, however, was not confined to one Olympic silver. He won four Central American and Caribbean Games gold medals (1974 and 1978), one gold, one silver and two Pan American Games medals (1975 and 1979) and, at Cali in 1975, he had the distinction of being the first Mexican to win a diving medal (bronze) at the World Aquatics Championships.

Girón was the first winner of Mexico’s National Sports Award in 1975 and in 1981 was the World Male Springboard Diver of the Year. He was admitted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2001. After his competitive career, he attended medical school at UCLA and obtained a degree in dental prosthetics. He also attended sports administration courses at the University of Texas, and at Berlin and in Mexico City.

He was President of the Mexican Association of Olympic Medallists, worked as a coach and competed at masters events. Girón was also involved in local politics, and in 2018, stood as a candidate for the post of Mayor of Benito Juárez (Mexico City). Just before Christmas 2019, he was admitted to hospital to be treated for pneumonia, but caught an infection that claimed his life three weeks later.