Luigi Beccali

Luigi Beccali

Personal information
Born	19 November 1907 Milan, Italy
Died	29 August 1990 (aged 82) Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
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[1]
Medal record Representing  Italy Olympic Games 1932 Los Angeles 1500 metres 1936 Berlin 1500 metres European Championships 1934 Turin 1500 metres 1938 Paris 1500 metres

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 overrun by Jack Lovelock at the 1936 Summer Olympics, settling to the 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 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]

See also

• FIDAL Hall of Fame

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luigi Beccali.

Records
Preceded by Jules Ladoumegue	Men's 1,500 m World Record Holder 9 October 1933 – 30 June 1934	Succeeded by Bill Bonthron
Preceded by Jules Ladoumegue	European Record Holder Men's 1500m 9 September 1933 – 2 October 1937	Succeeded by Miklós Szabó