Luigi Beccali (19 November 1907 – 29 August 1990) was the first Italian to win an Olympic gold medal in running, 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 ...

at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

, and the first Italian to win a European Championship title in athletics.

Biography

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Luigi Beccali, as a youth, was fascinated by

cycling 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 ...

and track and field athletics, but choose the latter, when he met the coach Dino Nai. Luigi Beccali, an Italian champion in 1500 m from 1928 to 1931, became a national hero overnight when he won the Olympic 1500 m gold at

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 1933, Beccali ran three

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

s. At first he equalled

Jules Ladoumègue Jules Ladoumègue (10 December 1906 – 2 March 1973) was a French middle-distance runner. He became a running star as the sport enjoyed a huge resurgence at the start of the Great Depression, fueled in large part by newsreel coverage. His caree ...

's world record 3:49.2, then lowered it to 3:49.0. At the end of the year he also set the world record of 2:10.0. Beccali won the 1500 m at the first

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

in 1934, but was outrun by

Jack Lovelock John Edward Lovelock (5 January 1910 – 28 December 1949) was a New Zealand athlete who became the world 1500m and mile record holder and 1936 Olympic champion in the 1500 metres. Early life Lovelock was born in the town of Crushingto ...

at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, settling for third place in 1500 m. He was again third in 1500 m at the European Championships in 1938. He also won the Italian championships from 1934 to 1938 in 1500 m and at 1935 in the 5000 m. Beccali was originally a council surveyor, responsible for road maintenance. His work schedule allowed him to train twice a day. He eventually moved to the United States, and retired from running there in 1941, becoming a wine trader.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beccali, Luigi 1907 births 1990 deaths Athletes from Milan Italian male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Italy Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Italy Olympic bronze medalists for Italy World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)

Biography

See also

References

External links