Luigi De Rosso

Luigi De Rosso was discovered as an athlete by the sports section of the State Police (Fiamme Oro) and he first competed in the 3,000 steeplechase, but it was as a walker that he achieved his best results. He competed at the 1960 Roma Olympics, and between 1960-67 made 10 appearances for the national team.

De Rosso was runner-up at the Military World Championships in Brussels in 1961, and between 1959-63 was 16 times a runner-up in national and international competitions, generally behind two other great walkers of the day, Antonio De Gaetano and Abdon Pamich, his great rival.

De Rosso quit the sport competitively at the end of the 1960s and became a manager of Fiamme Oro, collaborating closely with Pietro Martinelli, responsible for the sports group of the State Police until the early 1990s. As a coach De Rosso developed the talents of Sante Mancini and Renato Di Nicola, who both won medals at the Italian national championships.

Personal Best: 20kmW – 1-32:19 (1967).