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Eugenio Monti

Italian bobsledder

Eugenio Monti

Monti in the 1950s
Personal information
Born	(1928-01-23)23 January 1928 Toblach, Italy
Died	1 December 2003(2003-12-01) (aged 75) Belluno, Italy
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Bobsleigh
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 2 2 World Championships 9 1 0 Total 11 3 2 Olympic Games 1968 Grenoble Two-man 1968 Grenoble Four-man 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Two-man 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Four-man 1964 Innsbruck Two-man 1964 Innsbruck Four-man Pierre de Coubertin medal 1964 World Championships 1957 St. Moritz Two-man 1958 Garmisch Two-man 1959 St. Moritz Two-man 1960 Cortina d'Ampezzo Two-man 1960 Cortina d'Ampezzo Four-man 1961 Lake Placid Two-man 1961 Lake Placid Four-man 1963 Igls Two-man 1966 Cortina d'Ampezzo Two-man 1957 St. Moritz Four-man

Eugenio Monti (23 January 1928 – 1 December 2003) was an Italian bobsledder and alpine skier.^[1] He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the bobsleigh, with ten World championship medals (of which nine gold) and 6 Olympic medals including two golds. He is known also for his acts of sportsmanship during the 1964 Winter OlympicsinInnsbruck, Austria, which made him the first athlete ever to receive the Pierre de Coubertin medal.^[2][3]

Biography[edit]

Born in Toblach, Italy, The Flying Redhead was the best Italian young skier: he won the national titles in slalom and giant slalom, and finished third in downhill, but a 1951 accident stopped his alpine skiing career when he tore ligaments in both of his knees. Monti switched to bobsleigh, finding great success as a result. In 1954 he won his first Italian championship and in 1957 won his first world championship.^[1][4]

At the 1956 Winter OlympicsinCortina d'Ampezzo, he won silver medals in the 2-man and 4-man bobsled events. He could not compete in the 1960 Winter OlympicsinSquaw Valley, California, because the bobsled race was not held for economic reasons (for the only time in the history of the Winter Olympic Games).^[1]

But it was during the 1964 Winter OlympicsinInnsbruck that Monti performed the best-known act of his sporting career. Realizing that British bobsledders Tony Nash and Robin Dixon had broken a bolt on their sled, Monti lent them the bolt off his sled. The Britons won the gold medal in the 2-man bobsled, while Monti and his teammate took the bronze medal. Answering critics from the home press, Monti told them "Nash didn't win because I gave him the bolt. He won because he had the fastest run." Monti also showed his act of selfless generosity in the four-man competition. There, the Canadian team of Vic Emery had damaged their sled's axle and would have been disqualified had not Monti and his mechanics come to the rescue. The sled was repaired and the Canadian team went on to win the gold medal, while Monti's team took bronze. For these acts of sportsmanship, he was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal.^[1][5]

Finally, at the 1968 Winter OlympicsinGrenoble, France, a 40-year-old Monti won a gold in both the two-man and four-man events (the first non-German to do so). After his victory, he received Italy's highest civilian honor – the Commendatore of the Italian Republic and then retired to labor in his skiing facilities in Cortina.^[1]

Struck by numerous hardships (separation from his wife, the departure of his daughter for the United States, the death of his son from an overdose), suffering from Parkinson's disease, on 30 November 2003 he shot himself in the head; transported to the hospital in Belluno, he died the next day.^[6]

Turn 19 at Cesana Pariol, the site of the 2006 Winter Olympic bobsled, luge, and skeleton competitions, was named for Monti. The bobsleigh track that Monti competed on for years in Cortina and is slated for the 2026 Winter Olympics was renamed in his honor following his 2003 death.

Achievements[edit]

Bobsleigh[edit]

Olympic Games[edit]

• Gold medal in the two-man at the 1968 Winter Olympics
• Gold medal in the four-man at the 1968 Winter Olympics
• Silver medal in the two-man at the 1956 Winter Olympics
• Silver medal in the four-man at the 1956 Winter Olympics
• Bronze medal in the two-man at the 1964 Winter Olympics
• Bronze medal in the four-man at the 1964 Winter Olympics

World Championships[edit]

• Gold medal in the two-man in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966
• Gold medal in the four-man in 1960, 1961
• Silver medal in the four man in 1957

Alpine skiing[edit]

National titles[edit]

Monti has won three national titles.^[7][8]

• Italian Alpine Ski Championships
  • Slalom: 1949, 1950 (2)
  • Giant slalom: 1950 (1)

See also[edit]

• Legends of Italian sport – Walk of Fame
• Italy at the Olympics – Men gold medalist

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Eugenio MontiatOlympics.com
• Eugenio MontiatOlympedia
• Eugenio Monti at the Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (in Italian)

Summer Olympics
Preceded by Bruno Alberti	Flag bearer for Italy 1964 Innsbruck	Succeeded by Clotilde Fasolis