Pietro Mennea

Pietro Mennea

Pietro Mennea, 1972
Personal information
Full name	Pietro Paolo Mennea
Nickname	la Freccia del Sud ("the Arrow of the South")
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	pietromennea.it
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	100 m, 200 m
Club	Avis Barletta (1967–1972) Aeronautica Militare (1973) Alco Atalanta Rieti (1974–1976) Fiat C.E. Bari (1977) Fiat Iveco Torino (1978–1980) Capannelle Roma (1984) A.C. Bergamo (1984)
Coached by	Carlo Vittori
Retired	28 September 1988
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	100 m: 10.01 (1979) 200 m: 19.72 (1979, AR) 400 m: 45.87 (1977)
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 8 1 0 Universiade 5 0 2 World Cup 0 1 0 European Cup 3 4 1 Total 21 9 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 1971 Izmir 4 × 100 1975 Algiers 100 m 1975 Algiers 200 m 1979 Split 100 m 1979 Split 4 × 100 m 1983 Casablanca 200 m 1983 Casablanca 4 × 100 m 1975 Algiers 4 × 100 m World Cup 1977 Düsseldorf 200 m

Pietro Paolo Mennea (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛːtro menˈnɛːa]; 28 June 1952 – 21 March 2013), nicknamed la Freccia del Sud ("the Arrow of the South"), was an Italian sprinter and politician. He was most successful in the 200m event, winning a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and setting 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 the European record.^[1] He is the only male sprinter who has qualified at four consecutive 200 metres Olympic finals: from 1972 to 1984.