Ondina Valla

Ondina Valla

Personal information
Full name	Trebisonda Valla
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1916-05-20)20 May 1916 Bologna, Italy
Died	16 October 2006(2006-10-16) (aged 90) L'Aquila, Italy
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Sprint Hurdling Long jump High jump
Club	SEF Virtus Bologna
Retired	1942
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	80 m hs: 11.6 (1940) 100 m: 12.5 (1935) High jump: 1.56 m (1936) Long jump: 5.39 m (1935)
Medal record Summer Olympics 1936 Berlin 80 metre hurdles International University Games 1933 Turin 80 meters hs 1933 Turin 100 metres 1933 Turin Long jump 1933 Turin 4x100 m relay

Trebisonda (Ondina) Valla, (20 May 1916, in Bologna – 16 October 2006, in L'Aquila) was an Italian female athlete, and the first Italian woman to win an Olympic gold medal. She won it in the 80 m hurdles event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, after establishing the new world record during the semi-final.

Born at Bologna, she was named Trebisonda - a very unusual name for the country - after the Turkish town of Trabzon (Trebisonda in Italian), which her father considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. She was the little girl of the family, born after four brothers. She was nicknamed "Ondina", which means "little wave" in Italian.

Ondina Valla stood out for her personality and her sports talent even as a young girl. She rivalled with Claudia Testoni at the school championships in their hometown, and they would remain opponents for the rest of their careers. Aged 13, Ondina Valla was already considered one of Italy's top athletes. The following year she became national champion and was capped for the national team.

She was a versatile athlete, capable of excellent results in sprint events, hurdles races and jumps. She soon became a favorite with Italian sports fans. For the fascist government she was the ideal icon of the healthy, strong national youth. Media defined her "the sun in a smile".

Her most important achievement was the gold medal of 80 m hurdles race at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. On 5 August she won the semi-final in 11.6, a new world record. On the following day she ran the final. It was a tight race, with four athletes rushing together at the finish line. There were no doubts about Valla's victory, but a photofinish picture was needed to award the silver and bronze medals. Valla's lifelong rival, Claudia Testoni, finished fourth, without a medal. Valla and Testoni were also members of the Italian 4 × 100 m relay team which finished fourth.

After those Olympic Games, Ondina Valla was forced to limit her competitions because of back problems. However, she still continued to compete until the early 1940s.

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