View source for Delfo Cabrera

{{Short description|Argentine athlete (1919–1981)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name           = Delfo Cabrera
| image          = Cabrera.png
| image_size     = 190px
| caption        = Cabrera in 1948
| birth_date     = {{birth date|1919|04|02}}
| birth_place    = [[Armstrong, Santa Fe|Armstrong]], [[Argentina]]
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1981|08|02|1919|04|02}}
| death_place    = [[Alberti, Buenos Aires|Alberti]], [[Argentina]]
| headercolor    = lightsteelblue
| show-medals    = yes
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|athletics]]}}
{{MedalCountry | {{ARG}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold| [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 London]] | [[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon|Marathon]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalGold| [[1951 Pan American Games|1951 Buenos Aires]] | Marathon}} 
}}
{{family name hatnote|Cabrera|Gómez|lang=Spanish}}

'''Delfo Cabrera Gómez''' (April 2, 1919 &ndash; August 2, 1981) was an [[Argentine]] [[Athletics (sport)|athlete]], winner of the [[Marathon (sport)|marathon race]] at the [[1948 Summer Olympics]] in one of the most dramatic finishes in athletics history.

==Biography==
Born in [[Armstrong, Santa Fe|Armstrong]], [[Santa Fe Province]], Delfo played [[Football (soccer)|football]] as a youth, but decided to turn to athletics after [[Juan Carlos Zabala]]'s triumph at the [[1932 Summer Olympics]].

He moved to [[Buenos Aires]] in 1938 and began training in [[San Lorenzo de Almagro]] under [[Francisco Mura]]. In the same year, he won his first national championships title (in 5000 m). Over the years he would win 9 more titles, but none of them in marathon.

Delfo served in the army during the [[World War II]] where he met [[Juan Perón]]. After the war, being a friend of Perón, he was active member of the [[Justicialist Party]].

The [[London]] [[Olympic Games]] was Cabrera's first major international competition. [[Etienne Gailly]] from [[Belgium]] dominated the marathon race most of the way and until almost the very last moments. He was the first to enter the stadium, but with 400 m to go, Gailly fell down, exhausted, got up and fell again. It was like [[Dorando Pietri]]'s dramatic finish 40 years before. Cabrera and [[Tom Richards (athlete)|Tom Richards]] of [[Great Britain]] managed to pass the staggering Gailly, Delfo winning 16.0 [[second]]s ahead of Richards.

For 64 years, the victory remained the last Argentinian gold medal in an individual competition, until the victory of [[Sebastián Crismanich]] in [[taekwondo]] in the [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 games]].

Cabrera also participated in the [[1952 Summer Olympics]] and was the flag bearer for [[Argentina]] at the opening ceremony; he finished in sixth place in the marathon, which was won by [[Emil Zátopek]]. Cabrera ended his athletics career after finishing sixth at the 1954 [[Boston Marathon]]. After that he taught [[physical education]] in several schools.

Delfo died in a car accident near the town of [[Alberti, Buenos Aires|Alberti]], [[Buenos Aires province]], when driving back to Buenos Aires from a reception in his honour at [[Lincoln, Buenos Aires|Lincoln]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Panno|first=Juan José|date=2 August 2020|title=Delfo Cabrera, más rápido que un bombero {{!}} ATLETISMO Joyas del deporte argentino|url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/282452-delfo-cabrera-mas-rapido-que-un-bombero|access-date=2021-08-04|website=PAGINA12}}</ref>

==Achievements==
{| {{AchievementTable|Event=yes}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Representing {{ARG}}
|-
|1948
|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
|[[File:Gold_medal.svg|25px]]
|Marathon
|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon|2:34:51.6]]
|-
|1952
|[[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Helsinki]], [[Finland]]
|6th
|Marathon
|[[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon|2:26:42.4]]
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040831020533/http://www.delfocabrera.com.ar/ |date=20040831 |title=Website about Delfo Cabrera (in Spanish) }}

== External links ==
* {{Olympics.com profile|delfo-cabrera|org_archive=20210421143442}}
* {{Olympedia}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions Marathon Men}}
{{Footer Pan American Champions Marathon Men}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabrera, Delfo}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Belgrano Department, Santa Fe]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in Argentina]]
[[Category:Argentine men marathon runners]]
[[Category:Argentine men long-distance runners]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Argentina]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Argentina]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1951 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for Argentina]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Santa Fe Province]]
[[Category:20th-century Argentine sportsmen]]