Alvaro Salvadores Salvi was a Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics

1952 Summer Olympics

The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...

. Also, Salvadores was Chile's ambassador in Colombia from 1986 to 1988. One of his younger brothers is Luis Salvadores, also a basketball player.

Early life

As a young boy, his family immigrated by boat from Spain to Chile. On the way, he was kidnapped by a gypsie, but was found later by his mother with the help of some men.

Basketball

He played professional basketball for many years in Chile. He was a member of the basketball team which finished fifth in the Olympics. He played all eight games in the 1952 tournament

Basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics was the third appearance of the sport. 23 nations entered the competition.The top six teams at the 1948 Summer Olympics qualified automatically, as did the 1950 World Champion , the top two at the 1951 European championships , and the host country...

 despite fracturing his femur during the dying minutes of the seventh game after colliding with the goal post when he botched a layup

Layup

A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a jump shot. The layup is considered the most basic shot in...

. He played the last game on large amounts of pain medication, which would later be described as a "mixture that could very nearly have killed him."

Latter years

After being Chile's ambassador to Colombia, he continued to live there until his death.