Pietro Mennea

Pietro Mennea

Mennea at the 1972 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Pietro Paolo Mennea
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1952-06-28)28 June 1952 Barletta, Apulia, Italy
Died	21 March 2013(2013-03-21) (aged 60) Rome, Italy
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Website	www.PietroMennea.it
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	100 m, 200 m
Club	Fiat Iveco
Retired	1988
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 10.01 (1979, NR) 200 m: 19.72 (1979, ER)
Medal record International athletics competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 2 World Championships 0 1 1 European Championships 3 2 1 European Indoor Championships 1 0 0 Mediterranean Games 6 0 0 Universiade 5 0 2 World Cup 0 1 0 European Cup 3 4 1 Total 19 8 7 Olympic Games 1980 Moscow 200 m 1972 Munich 200 m 1980 Moscow 4 × 400 m World Championships 1983 Helsinki 4 × 100 m 1983 Helsinki 200 m European Championships 1974 Rome 200 m 1978 Prague 200 m 1978 Prague 100 m 1974 Rome 100 m 1974 Rome 4 × 100 m 1971 Helsinki 4 × 100 m European Indoor Championships 1978 Milan 400 m Summer Universiade 1973 Moscow 200 m 1975 Rome 100 m 1975 Rome 200 m 1979 Mexico City 200 m 1979 Mexico City 4 × 100 m 1973 Moscow 100 m 1973 Moscow 4 × 100 m Mediterranean Games 1971 Izmir 200 m 1975 Algiers 100 m 1975 Algiers 200 m 1979 Split 100 m 1979 Split 4 × 100 m 1983 Casablanca 200 m World Cup 1977 Düsseldorf 200 m

Pietro Paolo Mennea (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛtro menˈnɛa]; 28 June 1952 – 21 March 2013) was an Italian sprinter and politician. He was most successful in the 200 m event, in which he won a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and set a world record at 19.72 seconds in September 1979. This record stood for almost 17 years – the longest duration in the event history – and is still listed as the European record.

Mennea, who was born in Barletta, started his long international athletic career in 1968 when he won various races for juniores in Termoli and he was registered in AVIS Barletta club; in 1971, he won the first of his 14 Italian outdoor titles in the 100 and 200 m. He went on to win two indoor titles in 60 m and 400 m, along with five Mediterranean Games gold medals in 100 m and 200 m. He competed at the European Championships with a third place in the 4 × 100 m relay. He made his Olympic debut at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where he made the final of the 200 m, his strongest event. He finished in third place, behind Valeri Borzov and Larry Black. Three more Olympic 200 metre finals would follow later in his career.

At the 1974 European Championships, Mennea claimed the 200 m gold in front of his home crowd in Rome, while also placing second behind Borzov in the 100 m and the 4 × 100 m. After some poor performances in the 1976 Olympic season, Mennea decided to skip the Olympics, but when the Italian public protested Mennea went to Montreal. He finished fourth in the 200 m and sixth in the 4 × 100 m relay.