Brugnetti makes it five for Italy

Olympic 20km Race Walking champion Ivano Brugnetti lived up to a glorious tradition in Athens when he became the fifth Italian walker to win an Olympic crown, following on from Ugo Frigerio (3km and 10km in Antwerp 1920 and 10km in Paris 1924), Giuseppe Dordoni (50km in Helsinki 1952), Abdon Pamich (50km in Tokyo 1964) and Maurizio Damilano (20km in Moscow 1980).

Unexpected World 50km and then a battle of confidence

The 28-year-old Brugnetti - currently IAAF World Event Ranked 3rd - came to the fore in August 1999 when he unexpectedly won a World silver medal in the 50km in Seville at the age of 22, and later was elevated to World champion after the disqualification of the Russian German Skurygin for a doping offence.

Four troubled years followed Brugnetti’s triumph in Seville. He was forced to drop out of the Sydney Olympic Games, and never even made it to the start line for the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, the 2002 European Championships in Munich or last year’s World Championships in Paris which he watched on TV.

"During these very difficult years I have never given up, thanks to the help of my parents. I have always believed in myself because I have always trained very hard and with determination. I knew that this work would pay off one day,” said Brugnetti.

”It was a mental problem rather than a technical one. Despite good training sessions I struggled to reproduce this form during competitions. I was losing my confidence after so many disappointments.”

The switch to 20km was the key

The turnaround came last winter when Brugnetti and his coach Antonio La Torre decided to focus on the 20km race rather than on the 50km.

"My preparation for the longer distance gave me the base to restart after so many disappointments. I needed to increase my speed to face the 20km race. The first sign that this decision was reaping fruit came in December when I won the 10 km at the World Military Games in Palermo in 39:36, without any specific preparation for that event."

"I enjoyed a good winter spending a long period at altitude in Albuquerque (New Mexico). After my third place in the opening leg of the IAAF Walking Challenge in Tijuana behind Jefferson Perez and Robert Korzeniowski in my former PB of 1:19:43, I was aware that something was changing in my career."

Italian 10km record gave pre-Athens boost

An Italian record over the 10km distance (38:23:5) set during a competive test in Saluzzo shortly before flying to the Greek capital raised Italian hopes that Brugnetti could fight for a medal in Athens.

The big day for Italian athletics fans came on 20 August when Brugnetti launched his decisive kick in the last kilometre after an epic battle with the Spaniard Francisco Javier Fernandez and the Australian Nathan Deakes, who respectively won the silver and the bronze medals.

Brugnetti crossed the finish line in 1:19:40, a new personal best. "It is a dream which came true. I hoped to win a medal. I was in great shape but I did not think that this would have been enough for the gold."

Big TV audience

This race kept about four and a half million spectators glued to the television on 20 August, a remarkable figure which shows the enormous success of athletics in Italy when national heroes win Olympic and World medals. Brugnetti's face appeared on the front-page of many Italian popular newspapers the following day, a tribute generally paid only to football stars. So many celebrations followed his glorious day in Athens, and he has become a national celebrity after receiving many invitations from Italian  television programmes.

Honoured by Italian President

Brugnetti also received special recognition from the President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi during a ceremony held in Rome on 27 September to celebrate the Italian heroes from all Olympic sports who had won 32 medals in Athens. This day of celebrations for the Italy’s Olympic heroes continued with a parade through the streets of the Italian capital on a double-decker bus.

Inspiration for the young

Brugnetti has also become a model for many children. He and the Polish star Robert Korzeniowski met a group of school children in Piacenza on the eve of the Pino Dordoni International, the traditional annual walking event which commemorates the 50km Olympic legend who died in 1998. The four-time Olympic champion Korzeniowski officially ended his glorious career in Piacenza with a significant win over the 10 km distance in 39:36. Brugnetti also took part at the Sport Exhibition in Vigevano where five thousand children had the chance to meet him.

"It is nice to be recognized by children as an example. I think that these meetings are important to attract many children towards our fascinating sport and raise its popularity among the younger generation."

In the beginning…

Ivano Brugnetti, was born in Milan on 1 September 1976 and lives in Bresso on the outskirts of the big northern Italian city.

He followed the example of his older brother Luigi, who was also a walker. "I began walking when I was 8.  My brother was coached by Antonio La Torre. One evening I went to a training session with my brother and La Torre invited me to try this discipline. I liked it and this was the beginning of my career."

Brugnetti began walking with the local club Geas Sesto San Giovanni before spending some years as a junior with the Atletica Riccardi, one of the most popular athletics teams in Milan. In those years he won his first national junior titles and took part at the 1995 European Junior Championships. Then he joined the strong military squad Fiamme Gialle nine years ago.

A second father

He has always been coached by Professor Antonio La Torre, a former metal worker and trade union representative from Sesto San Giovanni who now teaches Physical Education at Milan University.

"Antonio is like a second father for me. He has been my coach for twenty years. Our relationship is not always easy. Sometimes we have some quarrels. However, they have to be seen in a positive way because they help understand our mistakes and achieve our goals."

Local tradition and support

Sesto San Giovanni, an industrial town near Milan, is well known among race walking enthusiasts for the "Coppa Città di Sesto", the Italian leg of the IAAF Walking Challenge. This race, which has been held every year on 1 May for 48 years, is very popular among the local community and receives strong support from local institutions. The competition starts and ends in the Pino Dordoni stadium, where Brugnetti and his training partner Alessandro Gandellini train every day.

"I live in Bresso but I train in Sesto. Last weekend Sesto honoured my gold medal with a special party to which the Mayors of Bresso and Sesto San Giovanni were invited. Both claimed to be the Mayors of the towns where the Olympic champion Ivano Brugnetti lives and trains!", said a proud Brugnetti.  

Sesto, the traditional Italian race walking cradle, has always represented an ideal environment for walking events. Before Brugnetti and Gandellini this town produced some other good specialists like the former Olympic finalists Raffaello Ducceschi and Giuseppe De Gaetano, and the 2002 European eighth placer Francesco Galdenzi who were also coached by La Torre.

Training partner for almost 20 years

Another factor which has contributed to the rise of Brugnetti to the top is his close relationship with his training partner Alessandro Gandellini, an international walker who won the Coppa Città di Sesto ahead of Brugnetti this year, and was an Olympian himself in the 20km in Athens.

"We have been training together for almost twenty years. We are close friends and work as in a team. This has helped us overcome the most difficult years of our careers", concluded Brugnetti. 

Brugnetti is determined to continue his path of glory. On 1 November he will start the preparation for next summer's IAAF World Championships in Helsinki where he will line-up in the 20km race.    

Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF