Agostino Abbagnale

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Agostino Abbagnale
Personal information
Nationality Italian
Born (1966-08-25) 25 August 1966 (age 58)
Pompei, Italy
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight96 kg (212 lb)
Sport
CountryItaly
Sport Rowing
Club G.S. Fiamme Gialle [1]
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1988 Seoul Quadruple scull
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1996 Atlanta Double scull
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2000 Sydney Quadruple scull
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1997 Aiguebelette Quadruple Scull
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Cologne Quadruple Scull
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1985 Hazewinkel Eight
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2002 Seville Double Scull

Agostino Abbagnale (born 25 August 1966) is an Italian rower and triple Olympic gold medalist. He is the younger brother of multiple Olympic medalists Carmine Abbagnale and Giuseppe Abbagnale. [2]

Contents

Early life and family

Abbagnale was born in the hamlet of Messigno, Pompei, into the rowing dynasty headed by his elder brothers Giuseppe and Carmine. [3] He began training on the Sarno river under their uncle-coach Giuseppe La Mura and by 19 had stroked the Italian eight to silver at the 1985 World Rowing Championships in Hazewinkel. [3]

Career

Breakthrough and Seoul 1988

Selected for the men’s quadruple sculls at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Abbagnale joined Gianluca Farina, Piero Poli and Davide Tizzano to win Italy’s first Olympic sculling title in a time of 5 m 43.40 s, [4] only minutes after his brothers triumphed in the coxed pair.

After the medal ceremony, Abbagnale, who is a poor swimmer, jumped into the rowing lake and landed on one of his partners Davide Tizzano, knocking the gold medal out of his hand. It took scuba divers two days to recover the missing medal.[ citation needed ]

Health setback and comeback

Weeks later he was diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis linked to a congenital protein-C deficiency, forcing a five-year hiatus from competition. [5] In 2000 coach-physician Giuseppe La Mura explained that lifetime anticoagulant therapy made banned substances “a lethal combination” for the rower, rebutting doping rumours. [6]

Abbagnale returned to the Olympic stage at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, teaming with Davide Tizzano to win the Gold in the double scull (2x). [4]

World titles and Sydney 2000

Switching back to the quad, he claimed consecutive world championships in 1997 (Aiguebelette) and 1998 (Cologne). [3]

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney he, Rossano Galtarossa, Alessio Sartori and Simone Raineri won in 5 m 45.56 s, the last Italian rowing gold of the 20th century. [4] [7]

Persistent recurrences of thrombosis forced his retirement in 2003.

Post-competitive career and honours

Abbagnale became a national junior coach and technical consultant for the Italian Rowing Federation. [4] In 2006, he was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal, given by FISA, the governing board for international rowing. The Thomas Keller Medal is awarded for an outstanding career in international rowing. Abbagnale's brothers Carmine and Giuseppe had been awarded the Thomas Keller Medal in 1997.

Achievements

Olympic Games

World Championships

Legacy

Italian media routinely describe him as “il più grande canottiere italiano di tutti i tempi,” the greatest Italian oarsman of all time, citing both his longevity and his pioneering fight against serious illness. [4] [3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Canottaggio statistiche Olimpiadi" (in Italian). fiammegialle.org. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Abbagnale new Italian Rowing president". worldrowing.com. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2020. The Italian Rowing Federation has a new president. He is Giuseppe Abbagnale, the three-time Olympic medallist and from Italy's most famed rowing family of Carmine, Agostino and Giuseppe Abbagnale.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "L'Italia è grande: Agostino Abbagnale, il fratello minore della dinastia". OA Sport (in Italian). 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "I cinquant'anni di Agostino Abbagnale, il terzo fratello d'oro". la Repubblica (in Italian). 25 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "Agostino Abbagnale: «Quando a 22 anni, dopo l'oro di Seoul, ho avuto una trombosi»". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). 13 October 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "IRN/row2k Exclusive: Interview with Dr Giuseppe La Mura". row2k. 13 September 2000. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  7. ↑ "Canottaggio, tre barche azzurre in finale". la Repubblica (in Italian). 9 August 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
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