Eugenio Monti

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Olympic medal record
Pierre de Coubertin medal		1964
Men's Bobsleigh
Gold	1968 Grenoble	Two-man
Gold	1968 Grenoble	Four-man
Silver	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	Two-man
Silver	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	Four-man
Bronze	1964 Innsbruck	Two-man
Bronze	1964 Innsbruck	Four-man

Eugenio Monti (January 23, 1928 – December 1, 2003) was an Italian bobsledder. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of this sport, with 12 World Championships medals (of which 11 gold) and 6 Olympic medals, but is known also for an act of sportsmanship during the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria that made him the first athlete ever to receive the Pierre de Coubertin medal.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Victories 2.1 Olympic Games 2.2 World Bobsled Championships 3 External links

[edit] Biography

Born in Dobbiaco, Italy, The Flying Redhead was the best Italian young skier: he won the national titles in Slalom and Giant Slalom and arrived third in Downhill, but in 1951 the breaking of the ligaments of both knees in an accident stopped his career. He then turned to bobsled, with great success. In 1954 he won his first Italian championship and in 1957 won his first world championship.

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

But it was during the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck that Monti performed the most well-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 of 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." But that was not his only act of selfless generosity. In the four-man competition, the Canadian team of Vic Emery 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. For this, he was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal.

Finally, at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, a 40-year-old Monti won a gold in both the two-man and four-man events. 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.

Suffering from Parkinson's disease, Monti committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on December 1, 2003.

Turn 19 at Cesana Pariol, the site of the 2006 Winter Olympic Bobsled, Luge, and skeleton competitions in named for Monti.

[edit] Victories

[edit] Olympic Games

• 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

[edit] World Bobsled Championships

• Gold medal in the two-man in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1968
• Gold medal in the four-man in 1960, 1961, 1963
• Silver medal in the four man in 1957

[edit] External links

• Olympic.org profile
• Montis' sportsmansip story at the IOC website
• A lesson in sportsmanship from Monti's actions in 1964
• Eugenio Monti
• (Italian) Interview with Eugenio Monti (2003)