Nino Bibbia (15 March 1922 – 28 May 2013) was an Italian

skeleton racer Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled (or -sleigh), down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of ...

and

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der who competed in the late 1940s. Born in Bianzone, Lombardy, he won the gold medal in the men's skeleton event at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

in St. Moritz. He was

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 ...

's first

Winter Olympic The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were hel ...

medalist in any sport, its first gold medalist in the Winter Games, and its first in bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton.

Biography

Bibbia also competed in

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

at those same games, finishing sixth in the four-man and eighth in the two-man event respectively. Bibbia was also involved in other winter sports, including

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

, cross-country skiing, and alpine skiing. All told, he earned 231 golds, 97 silvers, and 84 bronzes in his illustrious career. Turn 10 at

Cesana Pariol Cesana Pariol was the venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The track, built for the games, is located in Cesana. The venue holds approximately 7,130 spectators, of whom 3,624 are seated. Cons ...

, where the

, luge, and skeleton competitions at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

took place, is named in Bibbia's honor. Bibbia spent the last years of his life in

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ...

, where he died at the age of 91 on 28 May 2013.

References

Notes

Men's skeleton Olympic medalists since 1928
* Wallechinsky, David (1984). ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 1896 - 1980''. New York: Penguin Books. pp. 558, 560, 577.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bibbia, Nino 1922 births 2013 deaths Sportspeople from the Province of Sondrio Italian male bobsledders Italian male skeleton racers Olympic bobsledders of Italy Olympic skeleton racers of Italy Olympic gold medalists for Italy Bobsledders at the 1948 Winter Olympics Skeleton racers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in skeleton Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics