Rubén Menini

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameRubén Francisco•Menini
Used nameRubén•Menini
Born20 February 1924 in Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (ARG)
Died12 April 2020
Measurements182 cm
AffiliationsObras Sanitarias, Buenos Aires (ARG) / Racing Club, Avellaneda (ARG)
NOC Argentina

Biography

Rubén Menini was one of Argentina’s top basketball players during the late 1940s and early 1950s. His first major international competition was the 1948 Summer Olympics, where the Argentine squad finished 15th; Menini played in six of the team’s seven matches. He had much better luck at the inaugural World Championships in 1950, however, as Argentina won the gold medal, although they were unable to replicate this result at the 1951 Pan American Games, coming in second behind the United States. At the 1952 Olympics, Menini’s final major international tournament, Argentina finished just off the podium in fourth, after losing the bronze medal match to Uruguay. Menini took part in seven of the squad’s eight games. He lived a quiet life after his retirement, but appeared in the 2010 documentary film Tiempo muerto, about the difficult conditions in Argentina in the 1950s, when the national basketball team won the World Championships.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1948 Summer Olympics Basketball (Basketball) ARG Rubén Menini
Basketball, Men (Olympic) Argentina 15
1952 Summer Olympics Basketball (Basketball) ARG Rubén Menini
Basketball, Men (Olympic) Argentina 4

Special Notes