Luigi Beccali

Luigi Beccali
Personal information
Born	19 November 1907; Milan, Kingdom of Italy
Died	29 August 1990 (aged 82); Rapallo, Italy
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
Sport	Middle-distance running
Club	Pro Patria Milano
Coached by	Dino Nai
Medal record
Representing Italy
Olympic Games
European Championships

Luigi Beccali (19 November 1907 – 29 August 1990) was the first Italian to win an Olympic gold medal in running, in the 1500 metres at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and the first Italian to win a European Championship title in athletics.^[1]

Biography

Born in Milan, Luigi Beccali, as a youth, was fascinated by cycling and track and field athletics, but choose the latter, when he met the coach Dino Nai.^[1]

Luigi Beccali, an Italian champion in 1500 m from 1928 to 1931, became a national hero overnight when he won the Olympic 1500 m gold at Los Angeles.

In 1933, Beccali ran three world records. At first he equalled Jules Ladoumègue's world record 3:49.2, then lowered it to 3:49.0. At the end of the year he also set the 1,000 yd (910 m) world record of 2:10.0.

Beccali won the 1500 m at the first European Championships in 1934, but was outrun by Jack Lovelock at the 1936 Summer Olympics, settling for third place in 1500 m. He was again third in 1500 m at the European Championships in 1938. He also won the Italian championships from 1934 to 1938 in 1500 m and at 1935 in the 5000 m.

Beccali was originally a council surveyor, responsible for road maintenance. His work schedule allowed him to train twice a day. He eventually moved to the United States, and retired from running there in 1941, becoming a wine trader.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Luigi Beccali". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.