María del Pilar Roldán Tapia (born 18 November 1939 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

) is a Mexican former foil fencer and the first

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

woman to win an

olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

in the history of

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

. During the 1968 Mexican Olympic Games she was a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

ist; she was a champion in singles. She competed for

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

held in

, where she won the silver medal in the women's foil event.

Family

Her parents were Ángel Roldán ("El Güero"), one of the best

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

players in the national field, selected for the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

(1934), and María Tapia ("La Chata"), a triple medalist in the

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

(1935).

Early life

Pilar Roldán was born in

. At a young age Pilar began playing

, but her passion for

was born, thanks to the work of Alejandro Dumas "the three musketeers". At first, she only played with a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

to pretend to be a

musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

, but for her third birthday (1952), Pilar asked her parents for fencing lessons. At the end of that year, the world renowned

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Professor Eduardo Alajmo decided to move to

, and Pilar was one of his first graduates. Recognizing the passion of his daughter, he decided to install a small fencing court in their house and buy her high quality protective masks, gloves, and a vest. And so that without realizing, the so-called "white sport" ceased to be the main focus of this tennis family. At 15 years of old, Pilar was the undefeated national champion in foil fencing. On March 12, 1955, in

, father and daughter (Ángel Roldán and Pilar Roldán) participated in fencing en the second

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. This was an unprecedented feat, and since that day, no one father and daughter pair has ever competed for their country at the Pan-American Games. Neither won a

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

, but Pilar had some victories in singles. She was defeated by the

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, Igrid Sanders, finishing in fourth place after defeating Maxime Mitchel.

References

1939 births Living people Olympic silver medalists for Mexico Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic fencers for Mexico Mexican female foil fencers Fencers from Mexico City Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Fencers at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games 20th-century Mexican women {{Mexico-fencing-bio-stub