Gelindo Bordin (born 2 April 1959) is an Italian former

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

, winner of the

marathon race The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road running, road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also w ...

at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. He is the first Italian to have won an Olympic gold in the marathon and the only male to win both the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

and the Olympic gold medal in this event.

Biography

Born in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

, Italy, Bordin made his first breakthrough at the 1986 European Championships, where he won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the marathon. His next international competition was the 1987 World Championships in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The marathon race was held on a very hot and humid day. Bordin wisely held back from the leaders in the early stages. He caught up with the leaders after the 35 km mark and finally managed to hold on to the third place, winning a bronze medal. At the Olympic marathon in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, Bordin stayed with the leaders from the start. After the leading pack started to distance itself from the rest of the runners. With remaining, only three runners remained: Bordin, Wakiihuri, the

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n and the Djiboutan, Salah. With to go, Salah surged forward taking Wakihuri with him and establishing a comfortable gap between the two and Bordin. At this late stage of the race the move seemed a decisive one, leading most viewers and sport commentators to reasonably conclude that the gold and silver medals were to be decided between Wakihuri and Salah, with Bordin hopefully holding on to his bronze medal position. But Bordin's sheer courage and determination gradually saw him lessen the gap and finally catch up with the leaders once again, much to the delight of the Italian commentators and fans who were now ecstatic. He first passed Wakihuri and then the tiring Salah with to go, gradually increasing his lead and achieving the ultimate prize of Olympic gold. Bordin successfully defended his European marathon title in 1990, becoming the first man to win the title twice, but at the 1991 World Championships in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, he finished in a disappointing eighth place. Bordin attempted to defend his Olympic title at

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, but he strained a groin muscle jumping over a fallen runner just after the halfway mark, and failed to finish. Shortly after the 1992 Summer Olympics Bordin decided to retire. Bordin is the only male to win both the

and an Olympic gold medal in the marathon. He won the Boston Marathon in 1990 and describes the victory as his "second greatest run, after winning the Olympics".

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bordin, Gelindo 1959 births Living people Sportspeople from Vicenza Italian male long-distance runners Italian male marathon runners Olympic athletes of Italy Olympic gold medalists for Italy Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Italy World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists European athletics champions for Italy Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Boston Marathon male winners Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)

Biography

Achievements

See also

References

External links