Alberto Torres (athlete)

Alberto Torres

Personal information
Full name	Alberto Sebastian Torres de la Mota
Nationality	Dominican
Born	(1934-02-20)20 February 1934 Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic
Died	16 April 1999(1999-04-16) (aged 65) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Sport
Sport	Sprinting
Event	100 metres

Alberto Sebastian Torres de la Mota (20 February 1934 – 16 April 1999) was a Dominican sprinter. Torres would first compete at the 1959 Pan American Games though would not medal in his events. He would then compete as the sole athlete for Dominican Republic at the 1964 Summer Olympics and would be the first Dominican Olympic competitor and flagbearer. At the games, he would compete in the men's 100 metres and would not advance further from the heats.

He would then compete at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 metres, men's 200 metres, and as part of the men's 4 × 100 metres relay team. Though he did not medal in the events, he was designated as the torch bearer and lighter for the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games and was inducted to the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame five years later.

Biography

Alberto Sebastian Torres de la Mota was born on 20 February 1934 in Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic. He would compete as the sole athlete for Dominican Republic at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and would be the first Dominican Olympic competitor at any edition of the games. Prior to the games, he would set a personal best in the 200 metres with a time of 21.4 seconds in 1959. In the same year, he would compete at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago in the men's 100 metres, men's 200 metres, and men's 4 × 100 metres relay, not medaling in any of the events.

Torres would be designated as the flag bearer for the nation at the opening ceremony. He would compete in the heats of the men's 100 metres on 14 October. He raced against seven other competitors and placed sixth with a time of 10.9 seconds. He would not advance to the quarterfinals.

He also competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He would first compete in the heats of the men's 100 metres on 13 October. He had placed sixth out of seven athletes with a time of a wind-aided 10.7 seconds. Although he competed, he was listed as a non-starter in the Official Report but was included in the Official Results. Torres' next event would be the heats of the men's 200 metres on 15 October. He would run in a time of 21.9 seconds and placed fifth out of the eight people in his heat, he would not advance to the finals.

He would also be part of the Dominican men's 4 × 100 metres relay team with Porfirio Veras, Rafael Domínguez, and Luis Soriano. They would compete in the heats on 19 October and finished with a time of 41.48 seconds, placing last out of the seven teams in their heat, and not advancing further. After the games, he would be designated as the torch bearer and lighter for the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo. Five years later, he was inducted to the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame. Torres would later die on 16 April 1999 in Santo Domingo at the age of 65.

External links

• Alberto Torres at Olympedia