It has been almost four years since the death of Italian sprinter Pietro Mennea. But his performances, achievements and records in the 100m and 200m races are still remembered by many fans. During his seventeen years of sports career, he won 18 gold medals at various international competitions.
Biography
The world famous sprinter Mennea Pietro was born on June 28, 1952 in Barletta, Italy. The biography of the Olympic champion is connected not only with sports, but also with politics.
Sprinter's full name is Pietro Paolo Mennea. He was a strong tall man, his height - 1 m 80 cm, weight - 73 kg. The athlete was distinguished by a secretive character, did not particularly like to talk a lot, rarely gave interviews. It seemed that the only thing that worries the Italian is new achievements and records.
In his youth, Pietro Mennea started playing football. The nimble boy was immediately noticed by coach Carlo Vittori and invited him to his group. Sosprinter at the age of fifteen became interested in athletics. After the lessons, the young man hurried to training, because he understood that it was possible to achieve good results in professional sports only through hard work. For the first time in his native country, they learned about him in 1971, when he became the gold medalist at the Italian Championship. Since then, the athlete has been given the nickname "Blue Arrow" for his speed.
Successful start of the sprinter
At the beginning of his career, the runner also scored at the European tournament in Helsinki (Finland). At international competitions, he won third place in the 4x100 m relay. In his debut in 1971, Pietro Mennea took part in the Mediterranean Games in Izmir (Turkey). At these competitions, he won a gold medal in the 200-meter race and in the 4 x 100 relay.
At 20, Mennea Pietro made his first appearance at the Olympic Games in Germany. September 4, 1972 in Munich at a distance of 200 m, he came third to the finish line with a score of 20.3 seconds. and won bronze.
The Italian sprinter is well known in Russia too. The athlete took part in the Moscow Universiade in 1973. Then Pietro Mennea took three medals with him at once: two bronze and one gold.
Athlete Achievements
At 22, the Italian athlete made his second appearance at the European Championships, which took place in the capital of his native country - in Rome. In the finals of the 4x100m relay and the 100m race, Pietro won silver, and as a result of the 200m sprint, he became the champion.
In 1975, at the Universiade in Italy, he won again. He finished first in the 100m and 200m races and won two gold medals. In the same year, the Italian was a participant in the Mediterranean Games in Algiers. These competitions brought Pietro Mennea three more medals: 2 gold and 1 silver. In the career of a sprinter, 1976 turned out to be the most unsuccessful period. Speaking at the Olympics in Canada, the athlete did not reach the final in the 200m race and in the 4100m relay. He placed 4th and 6th respectively.
Records
But already in 1978, Mennea Pietro added three gold medals to his collection of awards, winning them at the European Championships in Prague and Milan. A year later, the Italian became a two-time European record holder. At the Summer Universiade in Mexico City, he finished in 10.01 s in the 100-meter race, and at a distance of 200 m, the time was 19.72 s. The second record remained unbeaten by any of the white athletes for a long time, it was surpassed by the American sprinter Michael Johnson only 17 years later. In 1979, at the Mediterranean Games in Split, Pietro Mennea won two more gold medals.
At the age of 28, the runner once again took part in the Olympics in Moscow. At that time, the Russians already knew the Italian athlete well, remembering his excellent performance at the competitions in the framework of the 1973 Universiade. Pietro did not disappoint his fans, winning first place in the 200m and third in the 4 x 400m relay.
In 1983, the thirty-one-year-old athlete competed at the World Championships in Helsinki and atMediterranean Games in Casablanca. Participation in two prestigious competitions brought him a silver, bronze and 2 gold medals. The next few years were not memorable for the athlete. Pietro Mennea could not win at any of the distances.
The end of a sports career and the life of a champion
In 1988, at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Seoul, the Italian champion was entrusted to carry the national flag of the team. As a result of his performance in the two hundred meter race, he did not even get into the final battle. Participation in the 1988 Olympics was the last for Mennea Pietro. The sprinter ended his sports career at the age of 36. Then he began to practice law, and in 1999 he became a member of the European Parliament from the Democratic Party. The political career of the former athlete lasted until 2004. Pietro Mennea also tried himself as a teacher.
March 21, 2013 was the last day of the Italian sprinter's life. He died in Rome in a hospital ward as a result of a serious illness - oncology. He was buried in the territory of the Christian church of Santa Sabina. In 2013, the famous Italian athletics competition Golden Gala was named after Mennea Pietro.
