The death of “Chabelo” at the age of 88 has shocked the world of Mexican entertainment this Saturday, March 25. Before becoming the iconic presenter of the program ‘En familia con Chabelo’, Xavier López was a high-performance athlete with big Olympic dreams.
When he was 17 years old, thanks to his imposing size, which allowed him to compete with adults, he managed to qualify to represent Mexico at the Helsinki Olympic Games in 1952.in the Olympic wrestling discipline, after defeating several rivals, including one seven years older than him, in the National Championship.
The list of Olympic wrestlers from the Mexican Olympic Committee in that category was made up of Agustín Briseño, coach; Rodolfo Dávila, fly; Leonardo Basurto, rooster; Mario Tovar, lightweight; Edward Assam, middle; and Xavier López, in the welterweight category.
However, his Olympic dream was cut short days before traveling to Finland. A federation asked him for 40,000 Mexican pesos (about $4,000 dollars). supposedly to cover the expenses of his trip, and since he did not have the money, he lost his place.
In 2008, remembering that episode in his life, ‘Chabelo’ confessed that it was a very hard blow for which he cried a lot because they never told him that he had to earn a pass to the Games and have a lot of money for expenses.
“That man called me again before the trip and told me that ‘if there was no wool, there were no games’. The 24-year-old competitor, the one I defeated the good one, was given my place. I still remember that his last name was Rosado,” he told Excelsior.
Later, as a consolation, he was told that he was not at the level of an Olympic medal, since the Turks were the best in Olympic wrestling. However, Xavier López responded: “And what the fuck do I care! I beat a 24-year-old man, I was 17, why wouldn’t I beat a Turk?”. Chabelo, in addition to his career as an athlete, became an iconic figure on Mexican television with his program “En familia con Chabelo.”
The family of the eternal child of the Mexican small screen reported the death of the actor and comedian. According to the announcement on Twitter, “Chabelo” died suddenly after suffering abdominal complications.
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