On 21 March 2013, the legendary Pietro Mennea, the 'arrow of the south', one of the athletes that Italians have most loved and supported in his extraordinary competitive feats, passed away forever. Mennea for 17 years, from 1979 to 1996 with that 19 "72 over 200 meters was the fastest in the world. Symbol of perseverance and tenacity, he made millions of Italians dream who identified with him, always launched towards new goals to conquer.
Pietro Mennea
That boy who in an avenue of Barletta in Puglia he competed on a bet, and won, against people in Porsches and Alfa Romeos, him on foot and them behind the wheel over 50 metres, he will remain forever in the hearts of those who love sport and the blue jersey. Mennea was, and is, for everyone the 'arrow of the south', a name which, in honor of the world record holder and Olympic champion of the 200 metres, was later given to a futuristic Trenitalia 'bolide'. A train capable of touching peaks of 400 kilometers per hour, a symbol of the greatness of Made in Italy: as was Pietro, a favorite pupil of Professor Carlo Vittori. Who, when he saw for the first time that skinny boy who wanted to be a sprinter, told him to eat "many steaks". Then he produced a great champion, an ascetic of speed capable of qualifying for four consecutive Olympic finals, from 1972 to 1984.
Competitions, records and four degrees
Four like the degrees that the great champion obtained, once he finished competing. That's how Mennea never stopped: 23 books written or 'shared', an intense commitment as a lawyer. MEP and even director general of Salernitana, before a sudden and lethal illness took him away, at not even 61 years old. The memory remains of how he explained his successes, his 29 medals (18 gold) and his 530 races on the track. “If I did what I did – Mennea said – I owe it only to the fact that I worked like a madman. I also trained six hours a day, all the time, even secretly. I've never been afraid of fatigue. Training is everything." That's why he was admired by Valery Borzov, Don Quarrie, Allan Wells, the best Americans: Mennea faced them all, and never bowed his head. And he was also the only representative of Italian athletics, together with Sara Simeoni, capable of boosting the sales of sports newspapers with his victories. Only he kept the Italians glued to the TV like when there was football or la Ferrari.
(Featured Pietro Mennea during a race (Wikimedia Commons – plank89m CC BY SA 4.0)
