Ennio Preatoni

Ennio Preatoni was an Italian sprinter in the 1960s and early part of the 70s. He competed at three Olympic Games (1964-72) and, in each edition, reached the final of 4x100 metres relay. At Mexico City in 1968, he was eliminated in the heats of his only individual participation, in the 100 metres.

Preatoni also appeared at two European Championships. He finished eighth in the 200 metres in 21.7 at Budapest in 1966, in a race that saw the 1960 Olympic champion Livio Berruti finish just one place ahead of him. Five years later at Helsinki, Preatoni won a bronze medal with the sprint relay team in 38.80 behind Czechoslovakia and Poland. He also won a bronze in the 100 metres at the 1967 Mediterranean Games, behind the winner Charis Ayvaliotis of Greece, and his own team-mate Pasquale Giannattasio. At the same Games Preatoni won gold in the relay in 40.65 with Carlo Laverda, Giannattasio and Ito Giani. This gold was repeated four years later when Preatoni, Vincenzo Guerini, Pasqualino Abeti and Pietro Mennea won in 39.7.

Domestically, Preatoni’s finest moment was probably when he set the Italian 100 metres record of 10.2 on 30 May 1970 at Madrid. He was Italian champion in 1968 (10.4) and 1970 (10.6), and after his active career, joined the sprint section of the Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL), in the days when Mennea reigned supreme. Many talented sprinters like Mauro Zuliani, Gianfranco Lazzer, Carlo Simionato, Pier-francesco Pavoni and Stefano Tilli were developed and they helped provided the nucleus of the relay squad that won the silver medal behind the Americans at the inaugural World Championships at Helsinki in 1983. Preatoni stopped training after the tragic death of his daughter Sara in a car accident while he was at the Barcelona Olympics. Every year in her memory he organised a contest for young musicians. In more recent times Preatoni was teaching the theory and practice of individual sports at the Università Cattolica at Milano.

Personal Best: 100 – 10.2 (1970).