Pietro Mannei

It was with great sadness that the IAAF today received the news that Italian sprinting legend Pietro Mennea passed away this morning 21 March at a hospital in Rome after a long battle with illness. Born in Barletta DOB 28 June 1952, Mennea made his international debut while still a junior, finishing sixth in the 200m at the 1971 European

Italian 1980 Olympic 100m gold medalist and longtime world 200m record-holder, Pietro Mennea, died today in Rome at 61 after a long battle with a terminal illness. Born in Barletta, Apulia, he started his long international athletic career in 1971, where he won the first of his 14 Italian outdoor titles in the 100200.

Pietro Mennea nacque in una modesta famiglia di Barletta.Il padre era sarto e la mamma casalinga aveva tre fratelli e una sorella. Dopo le scuole medie s'iscrisse a ragioneria, ottenendo il diploma nel 1971. Un curioso aneddoto racconta che all'et di 15 anni, su uno stradone di Barletta, sfid in velocit una Porsche e un'Alfa Romeo 1750 sui 50 metri, battendo entrambe e guadagnando le

Pietro Paolo Mennea Italian pronunciation pjtro menna 28 June 1952 - 21 March 2013, nicknamed la Freccia del Sud quotthe Arrow of the Southquot, was an Italian sprinter and politician.

The name of Pietro Mennea, the 1980 Olympic 200 metres champion and former world record holder, resonated deeply within Italian sport. As the many tributes which have followed his death from a

Despite being an Olympic Champion, Pietro Mennea is probably best remembered for a race at the 1979 Universiade. Held at the high-altitude track of Mexico City, which had also hosted the 1968 Games, Mennea bettered the 200 metre world record set at the 1968 Games by Tommie Smith to 19.72, aided by a favourable 1.8 ms prevailing wind. His record would hold for nearly 17 years, until it was

The highlight of Pietro Mennea's 1979 season had been setting a new world record of 19.72sec for 200m in Mexico City. The validity of this mark drew criticism over the years due to the fact that it had been recorded at high altitude, but just to emphasis that he was indeed the fastest man in the world over 200m, Mennea clocked a time of 19.96sec at his home town of Barletta on 17 August 1980

Mennea's outstanding career includes two world records, 8 European ones, 5 participations at Olympics again, a record for a sprinter, and 52 presences with the Azzurri, the Italian team. Having retired from competitive sport, Pietro Mennea got a degree in political sciences and law, and became a lawyer and company consultant.

ROME AP Pietro Mennea, an Olympic sprint champion from Italy who held the world record in the 200 meters for 17 years, died here on Thursday. He was 60. His death was announced by the

Pietro Mennea was born at Barletta, Puglia, on June 28 1952 and was said to have honed his skills racing against cars over a distance of 50 metres for bets. By the age of 19 he had become the