Jesús Rollán

Who was Jesús Rollán?

Jesús Miguel Rollán Prada was a water polo player from Spain who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Four years earlier, when Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics, he was on the squad that captured the silver medal. Born in Madrid, Rollán competed in five Summer Olympics, starting in 1988. He is among four Spanish water polo players, all in the 1992 and 1996 medal winning teams, to have competed at five Olympics, the others being Manuel Estiarte, Chiqui Sans and Chava Gomez.

He was also known as a close friend of Infanta Cristina, whom he introduced to her future husband Iñaki Urdangarin.

On 11 March 2006, Rollán died after a fall from a terrace at a spa near Barcelona. He was at the spa receiving treatment for depression. The fees for the spa were being paid for by the Spanish Olympic Committee.