Juan Carlos Harriott, Argentine polo legend, died at the age of 86 after leaving an indelible legacy in the history of sport with the conquest of more than 50 trophies throughout his career.
Harriott, Considered by many to be the best polo player that Argentina and the world had.was the top winner of the Palermo Open with 20 awards, while he won the Hurlingham Open 15 times and the Tortugas Open seven times, among other successes.
In addition, the native of Coronel Suárez He received five Silver Olympias – in 1970, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978 – and in 1976 he won the Gold one.while in 2015 he entered the Polo Hall of Fame and ended up becoming a symbol of the discipline.
In turn, Harriott won 38 titles with his Coronel Suárez team and, as a representative of Argentina, won the 1966, 1969, 1979 and 1980 Americas Cups, and the 1966 Sesquicentenario Cup.–
“I tried to make polo important in life but not the most important thing. First comes the family, the children. Put that first, you can’t be so stupid, so closed. You saw that there are people who are so fanatical that they put it before everything…”, he expressed some time ago in an interview.
Besides, His legacy also reached tennis by inspiring Guillermo Vilas’ renowned play called “Great Willy.”following a whiskey advertisement in which Harriott performed a backhand between his horse’s legs.
Vilas himself was in charge of confirming it: “When I saw that image, I thought it would be a good idea to do something similar, but changing the cue for the racket. And logically, the animal’s legs for my legs, with my back to the net.”he said.
Besides, His legacy also reached tennis by inspiring Guillermo Vilas’ renowned play called “Great Willy.”following a whiskey advertisement in which Harriott performed a backhand between his horse’s legs.
Vilas himself was in charge of confirming it: “When I saw that image, I thought it would be a good idea to do something similar, but changing the cue for the racket. And logically, the animal’s legs for my legs, with my back to the net.”he said.