Charlie Bazzano (10 October 1923 – 9 January 2014) was an Australian

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

. He competed in the

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

event at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. In the 1,000-metre sprint event semi-finals he finished fourth beaten by Britain's

Reg Harris Reginald Hargreaves Harris OBE (1 March 1920 – 22 June 1992) was a British track racing cyclist in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the world amateur sprint title in 1947, two Olympic silver medals in 1948, and the professional title in 19 ...

, who eventually took the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

. He also competed at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

. In 1971, Bazzano became the NSW cycling coach.

Private life

Bazzano was born in

Morano sul Po Morano sul Po (in Piedmontese ''Muran'') is a ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northwestern Italy. It is about east of the regional capital Turin and about northwest of the provincial capital Alessandria. Its immediate ne ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

. He had one brother, Leo. They and father Jack arrived in Australia when Charlie was aged three. His nephew Matt Bazzano became a notable cyclist and later Managing Director of Shimano Australia Cycling. Charlie was married to Heather who died several years before him. He used a wheelchair for some years before dying of a heart attack in

Cronulla, New South Wales Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdiv ...

References

External links

* * 1923 births 2014 deaths Australian male cyclists Olympic cyclists for Australia Cyclists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from the Province of Alessandria Cyclists at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Cyclists from Piedmont Italian emigrants to Australia {{Australia-cycling-bio-stub