By Hernan Alvarez Olympic Games Madison winners Walter Perez and Juan Curuchet won Argentina's...
Walter Fernando Perez and Juan Esteban Curuchet (Argentina) (Image credit: AFP)
By Hernan Alvarez
Olympic Games Madison winners Walter Perez and Juan Curuchet won Argentina's Olimpia de Oro on Monday night. Olimpia de Oro is a prize Buenos Aires' Sports Journalists Association [Circulo de Periodistas Deportivos de Buenos Aires] gives every year to the most successful Argentinean sportsman of the year.
Perez and Curuchet won the cycling prize and won the voting for the golden statuette among all winners in every sporting discipline. They defeated field hockey superstar Luciana Aymar and tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro in the final vote.
This is the third time cycling has been rewarded with the biggest prize. The first rider who won the Olimpia de Oro was Jorge Batiz in 1956, while the second was Marcelo Alexandre in 1981.
It was the perfect end to a perfect year for Curuchet, his last as an elite rider. The 43-year-old veteran retired after making the top of the podium in Beijing 2008.
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