Para-cyclist champion responds in best way after being given wristwatch as prize
A cyclist who had both arms amputated at the elbows has been praised for his response after he won a pair of wristwatches at the UCI World Championships in Glasgow.
Images of Ricardo Ten Argilés receiving the timepieces for his victories in the C1 scratch and omnium events went viral this week, with some describing it as the worst prize possible.
But the 48-year-old Spaniard refused to be cynical about the way his triumph was recognised.
In reply to one of many tweets ridiculing the people who gave him the prize, he posted on social media: ‘Thank you @TISSOT for believing in this super world of inclusion.’
Ricardo attached a video of himself wearing the watch from the Swiss brand on his left arm and a gold medal around his neck.
The person filming asks: ‘Ricardo, what time is it?’
Holding his watch up to the camera, he responds: ‘The world champion time!’
In another tweet, he wrote that he appreciated the fact Tissot gave the same watches to cyclists and para-cyclists.
The Valencia-born athlete, who has also won three Paralympic gold medals as a swimmer, took home a gold medal in the road time trial too.
Both of Ricardo’s arms and his left leg were amputated after he touched high-voltage power lines when he was eight years old.
He began swimming at the age of 18 and won seven Paralympic medals between Atlanta 1996 and London 2012, but decided to make the switch to cycling at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
He told Reuters: ‘I changed to cycling because it was a goal again that kept my motivation very high because I keep progressing every season.
‘Not like in swimming where every year I was stuck and struggling to keep my best marks.
‘The truth is, the style of training is very similar. You need to use different muscles but it didn’t take much effort to swap from swimming pool to the bike.’
British para-cyclists came top of the leaderboard at the Track World Championships, winning a total of 30 medals including 18 golds.
The event was held as part of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships, which brought together many disciplines for both cyclists and para-cyclists.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.