Dorando Pietri
Pietri holding the gilded silver cup from Queen Alexandra in 1908
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 October 1885 Correggio, Italy |
| Died | 7 February 1942 (aged 56) Sanremo, Italy |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | 1500 m – marathon |
| Club | La Patria Carpi |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 1500 m – 4:11.0 (1905) 5000 m – 16:08.1 (1905) 10000 m – 32:18.0 (1910) Marathon – 2:38:49 (1910) |
Dorando Pietri, often wrongly spelt Petri (Italian pronunciation: [doˈrando ˈpjɛtri]; 16 October 1885 – 7 February 1942) was an Italian long-distance runner. He finished first in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London but was subsequently disqualified.
Pietri was born in Mandrio, a frazione of Correggio, but spent his youth in Carpi (Emilia-Romagna region). Here he worked as a shop-boy at a confectionery shop. He was 1.59 m (5 ft., 2½ in.) tall.
In September 1904 the most famous Italian runner of the time, Pericle Pagliani, took part in a race in Carpi. According to tradition, Pietri was attracted by the event and, still wearing his work clothes, ran to the finish ahead of Pagliani. A few days later Pietri débuted in a distance race, finishing second in the 3,000 m of Bologna.
The following year he achieved his first international success, winning the 30 km in Paris. On 2 April 1906 Pietri won the qualifying marathon for the Olympic Games to be held in Athens that same year. In the Olympic race he retired due to intestinal illness when he was leading by 5 minutes.
In 1907 he won the Italian championships. He was by then the undisputed leader of Italian long distance races from 5000 metres to marathon distance.
Dorando Pietri trained hard for the 1908 Olympics in London. In a race in Carpi he ran 40 km (25 mi) in 2 hours and 38 minutes, an extraordinary result for the times. The marathon, which was to take place on 24 July 1908, started with 56 competitors, including Pietri and fellow Italian Umberto Blasi. It began at 2:33pm. The weather was particularly hot by British summer standards. The London course measured 42.2 km (26 mi); the distance would later become the official marathon length from 1921.
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Wikipedia