Eulalio Ríos Alemán was a Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 Olympic swimmer.

Family

He was born to a poor family in a village near Xalapa

Xalapa

Xalapa-Enríquez, commonly Xalapa or Jalapa, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of...

, Veracruz

Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...

, and from a young age trained to swim against the current of a brook that passed near his house, in Hueyapan de Ocampo

Hueyapan de Ocampo

Hueyapan de Ocampo in Veracruz, Mexico. It is located in south zone of the State of Veracruz, about 245 km from state capital Xalapa. It has a surface of 824.18 km2...

, to the south of Catemaco

Catemaco

Catemaco is a municipality and city in the southeast of Mexican state of Veracruz, in the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas volcanic mountain range, along the Gulf of Mexico...

 on the way to Coatzacoalcos

Coatzacoalcos

Coatzacoalcos is a major port city in the southern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz, on the Coatzacoalcos River. Coatzacoalcos comes from an indigenous word meaning "Site of the Snake" or "Where the snake hides"...

.

Early years

He was already a fast freestyle swimmer with a thudding kick when he went to Xalapa

Xalapa

Xalapa-Enríquez, commonly Xalapa or Jalapa, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of...

 to study law and to be coached in swimming.

In 1956 he learned the butterfly stroke under the guidance of his trainer Antonio Murrieta and watched an exhibition of the (by that time) "new dolphin kick" technique by the experienced swimmer Walter Ocampo, of Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

's Centro Deportivo Chapultepec.

He practiced and learned quickly in the cold waters of the rustic pool "La PLaya", near Los Berros park in Xalapa.

Within a few months he swam successfully in the olympic trials and was ready to compete for Mexico in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.

Competitions, records, prizes

• Panamerican Games
• Centroamerican Games
• USA Open National Championships
• 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games: He competed in the 200 meters butterfly, passed the qualifications heats and participated in the final, becoming the first Mexican swimmer to have done so in Olympic Games.

See: 200 m butterfly final in 1956

• 1960 Rome Olympic Games Eulalio reached the semifinals.

See: 200 m butterfly semifinal #1 in 1960.

• "Trofeo Latinoamericano Cabeza De Palenque" awarded by the International Swimming Hall Of Fame" (at Fort Lauderdale, FL) "for the 1956 Olympics where he placed 6th in the 200m fly".