Dorando Pietri, often wrongly spelled Petri (October 16, 1885 - February 7, 1942) was an Italian athlete famous for his dramatic finish and eventual disqualification in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42 The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.
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Biography
Early years
Pietri was born in Mandrio , a frazione of Correggio, but spent his youth in Carpi (Emilia-Romagna region). A frazione, in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a Comune; for other Administrative Correggio is a small town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy in the Po valley Carpi is a town of c 65000 people in the Province of Modena, in the region Emilia Romagna (northern Italy) Emilia-Romagna is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The capital is Bologna. Here he worked as shop-boy in confectionery. He was 1. 59 m tall.
In September 1904 the most famous Italian runner of the time, Pericle Pagliani, took part in a race in Carpi. According to tradition, Pietri was attracted by the event and, still wearing his work clothes, ran to the finish ahead of Pagliani. A few days later Pietri débuted in a distance race, finishing second in the 3,000 m of Bologna. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy
The following year he achieved his first international success, winning the 30 km in Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city On April 2, 1906 Pietri won the qualifying marathon for the Olympics Games to be held in Athens that same year. Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's In the Olympic race he retired due to intestinal illness when he was leading by 5 minutes.
In 1907 he won the Italian championships. He was by then the undisputed leader of Italian long distance races from 5000 metres to marathon distance. The 5000 metres is a popular Running distance also known as a 5K or 5 km colloquially "five-K"
1908 Olympics
Dorando Pietri trained hard for the 1908 Olympics in London. The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. In a race in Carpi he ran 40 km in 2 hours and 38 minutes, an extraordinary result for the times. The London marathon measured 42. 195 km, a distance which became official from 1921. 56 racers started, including Pietri and fellow Italian Umberto Blasi. The day was unusually hot by British standards and the race was started at 14. 33 on July 24, 1908. Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year
Pietri began his race at a rather slow pace, but in the second half began a powerful surge moving him into second position by the 32 km mark, 4 minutes behind South African Charles Hefferon. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Charles Archer Hefferon ( 18 July, 1878 – 15 March 1931) was a South African athlete who competed mainly in the Marathon When he knew that Hefferon was in crisis, Pietri further increased his pace, overtaking him at the 39 km mark.
The effort took its toll and with only two kilometres to go, Pietri began to feel the effects of extreme fatigue and dehydration. Dehydration ( hypohydration) is the removal of Water ( hydro in ancient Greek) from an object When he entered the stadium, he took the wrong path and when umpires redirected him, he fell down for the first time. He got up with their help, in front of 75,000 trembling spectators.
He fell four more times, and every time was helped up by the umpires. In the end, though totally exhausted, he managed to finish the race in first place. Of his total time of 2h 54min 46s, ten minutes were needed for that last 350 metres. Second was American Johnny Hayes. John ("Johnny" Joseph Hayes ( April 10, 1886 &ndash August 25, 1965) was an American athlete, a member The American team immediately lodged a complaint against the help Pietri received from the umpires. The complaint was accepted and Pietri was disqualified and removed from the final standings of the race.
International celebrity
Pietri's feat touched all the spectators of the stadium. As a compensation for the missing medal, Queen Alexandra gave him a gilded silver cup: an award proposed by the writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Carolina Marie Charlotte Louise Julia 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925 was Queen Consort to Edward VII of the United Kingdom Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 was an Anglo-Scottish Author most noted for his stories about the
Pietri suddenly became an international celebrity. Composer Irving Berlin dedicated a song to him entitled "Dorando" and Pietri received requests to participate in exhibition races in the United States. Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 &ndash 22 September 1989 was a Russian-born American Composer and Lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters On November 25, 1908, in Madison Square Garden, New York a race between Hayes and Pietri was organized. Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four Arenas in New York City. The City of New York Pietri won the race as well as a second similar race on March 15, 1909. Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Pietri won 17 of the 22 races on his tour of America.
He returned to Italy in May 1909 and continued racing professionally in his native country and abroad for two more years. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting His last marathon was in Buenos Aires, on May 24, 1910, where he achieved his personal best of 2h 38min 48:2s. Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is geographically located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting
Pietri's last race in Italy was a 15 km race held in Parma on September 3, 1911, which he won. Parma is a City in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna near Modena famous for its Architecture and the fine countryside around it Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year He also won his very last race this time in Göteborg (Sweden), in October of the same year. Gothenburg ( Swedish:) /jœte'bɔrj/ is a city, a municipality, and an urban area on the west-coast of Sweden. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. He was 26 at the time. In three years as professional runner he earned 200,000 lire in prize money alone, an enormous sum for the time. The lira (plural lire) was the Currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002
He invested these earnings in a hotel he opened in collaboration with his brother. As entrepreneur he wasn't as successful as he was as an athlete and the hotel went bankrupt. He moved to Sanremo, where he directed a car workshop. Sanremo is a city with about 57000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy.
Pietri lived in Sanremo until his death, of a heart attack, at the age of 56.
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