Farewell to Livio Berruti. After a period of illness, the 1960 Rome Olympic 200-meter champion died at the age of 87 in a Turin clinic. He is survived by his wife, Silvia. The funeral will be private.

Born in Turin on May 19, 1939, Berruti discovered athletics in 1955 at Cavour High School, becoming the fastest athlete in the school. He hoped—as FIDAL recalls in his biography—to be able to practice his beloved tennis by attending the Lancia sports center , but his results in sprint races encouraged him to persist with athletics.

Just a few years later he became Olympic champion, the first European sprinter to triumph in this race. It all happened on September 3, 1960, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome: in just two hours, he ran the semifinal in 20.5, equaling the world record, then won the final in the same time ahead of American Lester Carney (20.6) and Frenchman Abdou Seye of Senegal (20.7). For his victory in Rome, he received 800,000 lire from the CONI for the gold medal, 400,000 lire for the world record, and a Fiat 500.

At the Tokyo Olympic Games four years later, he ran the same distance on the uncomfortable first lane, finishing fifth and still first of the Europeans (20.83), in the race won by American Henry Carr in 20.36.

Livio Berruti's name is on one of the plaques on the Italian Sports Walk of Fame in Rome, established by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) to celebrate the legends who have shaped the history of Italian sport.

(Unioneonline)

© Riproduzione riservata