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 ...

competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was the third appearance of the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an nation, which had not competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was originally going to host the Games, but the eruption of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

meant the UK hosted them.

Medalists

Results by event

Athletics

Italy's best athletics result was

Emilio Lunghi Emilio Lunghi (16 March 1887, in Genoa – 27 September 1925) was an Italian athlete. He won the silver medal in the men's 800 metres race at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, making him the first Italian to win an Olympic medal. Biograph ...

's silver medal in the 800 metres.

Dorando Pietri Dorando Pietri (; often wrongly spelt Petri; 16 October 1885 – 7 February 1942) was an Italian long-distance runner. He finished first in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London but was subsequently disqualified. Biography Earl ...

's first-place finish in the marathon was erased by disqualification as a pair of race officials had helped him across the finish line.

Cycling

No Italian cyclist advanced to the finals in any event. Morisetti's second-place finish in the fourth semifinal of the sprint was the best performance by an Italian cyclist.

Diving

Fencing

Gymnastics

Rowing

Swimming

Wrestling

Italy's lone wrestler in 1908 was undefeated in his four bouts, winning each match to win the gold medal in the Greco-Roman lightweight class.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Italy at the 1908 London Summer Games
* {{Nations at the 1908 Summer Olympics Nations at the 1908 Summer Olympics

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

Olympics