Emilio Lunghi (16 March 1887, in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

– 27 September 1925) was an Italian athlete. He won 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 ...

in the men's 800 metres race at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, making him the first Italian to win an Olympic medal.

Biography

His time in the race was 1:54.2, which beat the previous Olympic record by 1.8 seconds but was still 1.4 seconds behind the time of

Mel Sheppard Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard (September 5, 1883 – January 4, 1942) was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and winner of four gold medals and one silver medal at the 1908 Summer Olympic ...

, who took gold and set a new record at 1:52.8. Lunghi had won his semifinal heat with a time of 1:57.2 to advance to the final. Lunghi also competed in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

. His first-round heat also included

Norman Hallows Norman Frederic Hallows (29 December 1886 – 16 October 1968) was an English middle-distance runner. Educated at Felsted School, he won the bronze medal and set an Olympic record in the 1500 metres race at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. H ...

; both of the two runners broke the Olympic record in that heat, but Hallows came out on top by running the race in 4:03.4 as opposed to Lunghi's 4:03.8. After the 1908 Olympics, Lunghi spent a year New York City, and competed as a member of the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

while in the U.S., establishing three world's records in the 700 yard, 880 yard and two-thirds of a mile distances.

National titles

Emilio Lunghi won the individual

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

nine times in six different events. *1 win on

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

(1908) *1 win on

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

(1914) *3 wins on

1000 metres The 1000 metres is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. The 1000 yards, an imperial alternative, was sometimes also contested. All-time top 25 *h = hand timed *i = indoor performance *A = affected by ...

(1908, 1911, 1912) *2 wins on

(1906, 1913) *1 win on 1200 metres steeplechase (1912) *1 win on

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

(1913)

References

Notes

* * * *

External links

*
Emilio Lunghi
at Asaibrunobonomelli.it *

at Wingedfist.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunghi, Emilio 1887 births 1925 deaths Italian male middle-distance runners Italian male steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Italy Sportspeople from Genoa Olympic silver medalists for Italy Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Italian Athletics Championships winners