The Cinque Mulini is an annual

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

race in

San Vittore Olona San Vittore Olona (Legnanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located on the river Olona and about northwest of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,982 and an area of . ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

s along

Olona The Olona (''Olona'' in Italian; ''Ulona'', ''Urona'' or ''Uòna'' in Western Lombard) is an Italian river belonging to the Po Basin, long, that runs through the Province of Varese and Metropolitan City of Milan whose course is developed ent ...

river, which lend the competition its name – meaning ''Five Mills'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

.Cinque Mulini: Italy's bonkers cross country race
. Spikes Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-10-20. It is one of the IAAF cross country permit meetings that act as qualifiers for the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

.Cross Country Permit Meets
IAAF (2009). Retrieved on 2009-10-20. As one of the most prestigious meets, numerous

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 ...

holders and

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Winter Olympic sports A. Including military patrol e ...

s have competed at the Cinque Mulini throughout its history.

History

Giovanni Malerba organised the first competition in 1933 as a reaction to a competition in a neighbouring village which revolved around seven

clock towers Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

. The competition has been held every year since its inception, including throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and in 1939 when the

Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera The Italian Athletics Federation (Italian: ''Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera'', FIDAL), is the governing body for athletics in Italy since 1906. The Italian Federation, founded on 21 October 1906, on initiative of '' La Gazzetta dello S ...

(FIDAL) ordered that all cross country competitions be postponed.History of Cinque Mulini
. Cinque Mulini. Retrieved on 2010-02-05. The course was altered from 10 km to 12 in the late 1930s, in order to accommodate all five mills. The race began to grow after being selected as the course for the Italian Cross Country Championship in 1946 and 1949. The competition became an international one in 1952 and

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n runner Ahmed Labidi became the first foreign winner two years later. By the early 1960s, Olympic silver medallist

Franjo Mihalić Franjo Mihalić (; 9 March 1920 – 14 February 2015) was a Yugoslav and Croatian long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and his marathon silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics. Mihalić competed mostly in marath ...

had brought the race to new heights, taking three victories over five editions. A junior race was introduced in 1960, the first international women's race was held in 1971, and student races were added to the program in the late 1970s. Olympic and World champions graced the course at every edition in the 1970s. By the mid-eighties, East African runners had established themselves, frequently reaching the podium in the senior races. It was part of the IAAF World Cross Challenge the following decade, remaining at the forefront of European cross country running. The course was significantly changed throughout the 2000s, only the Cozzi and Meraviglia mills remained as part of the course and gradually only the semi-functioning Meraviglia was included. Both former champion

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

and meet organiser Vito Garofalo stressed that the competition's longevity is due to, in part, the support the race receives from the local community. The race was elected to serve as the Italian national cross country championships in 1996; Gennaro Di Napoli and Patrizia Di Napoli took the honours.Cinque Mulini
ARRS (2010-02-03). Retrieved on 2010-02-05. The event hosted the

European Cross Country Club Championships The European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition between the European running clubs that are the reigning national champions for their country. It is often abbreviated to the name ECCC Cross Country. It i ...

alongside the traditional race in 2011; Portuguese club Grupo Desportivo e Recreativo Conforlimpa won the men's team title while the women's title went to Turkey's Üsküdar Belediyesi Spor Kulübü.

Past senior race winners

National era

International era

Statistics

Winners by country

Multiple winners

*''Last updated January 2016''

References

;General
Cinque Mulini Men's winners
Cinque Mulini. Retrieved on 2010-02-05.
Cinque Mulini Women's winners
Cinque Mulini. Retrieved on 2010-02-05. ;Specific

External links

Official website
{{IAAF Cross Country Meetings Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in Italy Recurring sporting events established in 1933 Sport in Lombardy Cross country running in Italy Annual sporting events in Italy 1933 establishments in Italy Winter events in Italy