Fri 15th Sep 2023Juan Carlos Harriott Passes Away 28 October 1936 – 11 September 2023
Juan Carlos Harriott, affectionately known as Juancarlitos or Juancar, was one of polo’s greats having won The Argentine Open no less than 20 times between 1957 and 1979 – more than anyone else in history – as well as 15 Hurlingham Open, seven Tortugas Open title and four Argentine Triple Crowns (1972, 1974, 1975 and 1977). As Captain of the Argentine team he also won The Americas Cup in 1966, 1969, 1979 and 1980.
Juan Carlos Harriott passed away on Monday 11 September at the age of 86-years-old and was considered one of the greatest players in the history of polo.
Juan Carlos Harriott was born on 28 October 1936 in Coronel Suarez, the son of Juan Carlos Harriott and Elvira de Lusarreta, and was a polo fan from the start. In 1953 he achieved a 1 goal handicap and in 1957 he began playing with his father, who he later won The Argentine Open with several times. The Harriott father-son duo were joined by Antonio Heguy and his son Horacio in 1958 and playing as Coronel Suárez they remain the only line-up of fathers and sons to have won The Argentine Open. In 1976 he was presented with the Golden Olympia by the Circle of Sports Journalists of Buenos Aires, which is awarded annually to the best athlete in the country, making him the first polo player to receive this accolade.
Harriott held a continuous 10 goal handicap from 1961 until his retirement after the 1980 Americas Cup (which he won for the fourth time) when he decided to retire. After retiring, he modestly requested his handicap to be lowered to 9 goals so he could continue to play at his Club, Coronel Suárez. In 2015 he was inducted to the Polo Hall of Fame in America and his home town of Coronel Suárez erected a statue in his honour and one of the Club’s main fields is named after him.
Juan Carlos Harriott was known as a true gentleman both on and off the polo field, and in the words of another great 10 goaler, Gonzalo Tanoira, “Juancarlitos’ superiority is so obvious that it breaks all comparisons, because he truly played at a level much above any of his contemporaries”.
Photograph: Juan Carlos Harriott has passed away.
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