Livio Berruti

Livio Berruti
	Livio Berruti in 2010
Personal information
Nationality	Italian
Born	19 May 1939 (age 85); Turin, Italy
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Athletics
Event	Sprint
Club	G.S. Fiamme Oro
Coached by	Peppino Russo
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	100 m: 10.2 (1960); 200 m: 20.5 (1960);
Medal record
Olympic Games
Summer Universiade
Mediterranean Games

Last updated November 28, 2024

Livio Berruti (born 19 May 1939) is an Italian former athlete who was the winner of the 200-meter dash in the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Berruti was born in Turin where he attended Liceo Classico "Cavour". After high school, while pursuing a degree in chemistry, he competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics. In the semi-finals of the 200 m, spurred by the home crowd, he unexpectedly ran in 20.5 seconds, equalling the then world record for that distance. This made him a surprise outsider for the final, later that day. In that race, Berruti, who was noted for always running with black glasses and white socks, once again clocked 20.5, beating the American favourites to the gold medal.

Anchoring the Italian 4 × 100 m relay team, Berruti narrowly missed out on a second Olympic medal, finishing in 4th. His world record was not beaten until June 1962, but his performance remained a European record for a further two years, until 21 June 1964.

His Olympic victory, at the beginning of his career, would remain his best achievement. His three appearances at the European Championships only brought him a 7th place in the 1966 200 m final. He did, however, win Italian titles in both the 100 and 200 m from 1957 until 1962, and two more 200 m titles in 1965 and 1968. Berruti also made two more Olympic appearances, in 1964 and 1968. On both occasions, he reached the final of the 4 × 100 m relay, and also placed 5th in the 200 m final of 1964.

Olympic results

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Performance	Note
1960	Olympic Games	Rome	1st	200 metres	20.5	=
1960	Olympic Games	Rome	4th	4 × 100 m relay	40.2	^[3]
1964	Olympic Games	Tokyo	5th	200 metres	20.8	^[4]
1964	Olympic Games	Tokyo	7th	4 × 100 m relay	39.5
1968	Olympic Games	Mexico City	QF	200 metres	21.0
1968	Olympic Games	Mexico City	7th	4 × 100 m relay	39.2

National titles

Livio Berruti has won 14 times the individual national championship.^[5]

6 wins in the 100 metres (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962)
8 wins in the 200 metres (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1968)

Awards

On 7 May 2015, in the presence of the President of Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Giovanni Malagò, was inaugurated in the Olympic Park of the Foro Italico in Rome, along Viale delle Olimpiadi, the Walk of Fame of Italian sport, consisting of 100 tiles that chronologically report names of the most representative athletes in the history of Italian sport. On each tile are the name of the sportsman, the sport in which he distinguished himself and the symbol of CONI. One of these tiles is dedicated to Livio Berruti.^[6]

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References

↑ "Addio a Peppino Russo" (in Italian). fidal.it. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
↑ "PODIO INTERNAZIONALE DAL 1908 AL 2008 - UOMINI" (PDF). sportolimpico.it. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
↑ Time was 40.33 electronic, but the relay team ran 40.16 in the heat and 40.29 in the semi-finals.
↑ He ran in a better time (20.6) in the quarter-finals.
↑ ""CAMPIONATI "ASSOLUTI" ITALIANI SUL PODIO TRICOLORE – 1906 2012" (PDF). sportolimpico.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
↑ "Inaugurata la Walk of Fame: 100 targhe per celebrare le leggende dello sport italiano" (in Italian). coni.it. Retrieved 11 October 2018.

Bibliography

Gregori, Claudio (2009). Livio Berruti—Il romanzo di un campione e del suo tempo [Livio Berruti—The romance of a champion and his time] (in Italian). Cassina de' Pecchi (Milan), Italy: Edizioni Roberto Vallardi. ISBN 978-88-95684-31-4.

External links

Livio Berruti at World Athletics

Livio Berruti at the Italian Athletics Federation (in Italian)

Livio Berruti at Olympics.com

Livio Berruti at Olympedia

Livio Berruti at the Italian National Olympic Committee (in Italian)
Livio Berruti at IMDb
Livio Berruti discography at Discogs

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[1] "Addio a Peppino Russo" (in Italian). fidal.it. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2021.

[2] "PODIO INTERNAZIONALE DAL 1908 AL 2008 - UOMINI" (PDF). sportolimpico.it. Retrieved 5 December 2012.

[3] Time was 40.33 electronic, but the relay team ran 40.16 in the heat and 40.29 in the semi-finals.

[4] He ran in a better time (20.6) in the quarter-finals.

[5] ""CAMPIONATI "ASSOLUTI" ITALIANI SUL PODIO TRICOLORE – 1906 2012" (PDF). sportolimpico.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.

[6] "Inaugurata la Walk of Fame: 100 targhe per celebrare le leggende dello sport italiano" (in Italian). coni.it. Retrieved 11 October 2018.

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