Sport
Paralympic cyclist with amputated arms given the worst victory prize imaginable — a watch…
Why did no one stop and think, 'maybe we should give him something else'?
Danny Jones -
15th August 2023 
A Paralympic cyclist with no arms has been given the worst victory prize you could possibly think of following his victory in Glasgow last week — a watch…
That’s right, Spanish para-cyclist Ricardo Ten Argiles won the C1 category at the 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday 13 August and was promptly presented with a Tissot watch while on the podium.
Apparently, no one got the memo that Argiles has two amputated arms which stop around the elbow and, well, doesn’t usually wear watches.
Why did no one stop and think, ‘maybe we should give him something else’? The clip was shared on social media soon after and has, unsurprisingly, gone beyond viral.
Argiles tragically had to have both arms as well as one of his legs amputated after he was electrocuted by high-voltage wires when he was just eight years old, but he has gone on to become an inspiration in the athletics community.
That being said, while timepieces are often gifted as a winner’s prize in the cycling world — with Tissot being a lead sponsor of the tournament in this case — you would have thought someone might have thought of an alternative in this case.
In fact, as if that wasn’t enough, he was actually presented with two watches after not only winning his fifth para track cycling world title in the C1 scratch race but a gold medal in the road time trial as well.
Thankfully, the 47-year-old Paralympian athlete accepted the watch in good spirits and didn’t seem to mind all that much. In fact, he had no problem embracing the funny side on social media shortly after.
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As if his physical feats on a bike weren’t already impressive enough, the Valencian-born para athlete already had a successful career in another sport: swimming.
Before taking up cycling, he was already a three-time Paralympic gold medal-winning swimmer, having made his debut in back Atlanta in 1996, with three world titles in para-swimming to his name.
Sod giving him a watch, this man deserves a beer!
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Featured Image — Out Of Context Cycling/Ricardo Ten (via Twitter)
