Paralympic cyclist Ricardo Ten Argilés wasn’t on board with the backlash over his award after winning the C1 category at the 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday.
The 47-year-old Spanish athlete, who has both his arms amputated around the elbows, was presented with two gold medals, as well as two Tissot watches during the post-race presentation.
Argilés was all smiles while posing with the watch on the podium, however, some fans felt differently on Twitter — and slammed Watchmaker Tissot, which is one of the major sponsors of the event, for gifting the para-cyclist with wristwatches.
“Not a very well thought gift,” one person wrote, while another called the winning prize an “insensitive” gesture.
Argilés, who is also a Paralympic swimmer, didn’t appear to feel that way.
In fact, he thanked Tissot for “believing in this super world of inclusion” in a Twitter post.
Argilés also reposted a tweet that read: “It looked like a tactless slip on the part of the organizers. But the armless cyclist overcame the awkward moment and rejoiced as if nothing had happened.”
After the event, Argilés shared a video of himself celebrating with a watch around his bicep and made light of the situation.
“Ricardo, what time is it?” someone asked in the video.
“World champion time!” Argilés replied before letting out a joyful yell.
Argilés reposted positive messages about the situation, including one about his video, which read: “Excellent answer to all the yes yes who had shouted at the inappropriate gift without even knowing the opinion of the first person concerned.”
He shared the clip numerous times, including smiling, watch and gold medal emojis on Twitter.
“I am very happy to have won two Tissots, one for each arm but above all for what it means for Paralympic cycling, total inclusion of the sport at the highest level,” Argilés wrote on Twitter.
The para-cyclist had both arms and his left leg amputated after he was electrocuted by high voltage wires when he was just eight years old, News.com.au reported.
Argilés previously said 75 percent of his body suffered third-degree burns, according to the outlet.
Saturday’s victory in Glasgow marked his fifth para track cycling world title in the C1 scratch race.
Argilés competed as a Paralympic Swimmer at the Olympics in Atlanta (1996), Sidney (2000), Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016), before competing as a Paralympic cyclist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The para-cyclist is now preparing to compete at the European Championships and 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
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