Dino Rora

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameChiaffredo "Dino"•Rora
Used nameDino•Rora
Born5 March 1945 in Torino, Torino (ITA)
Died28 January 1966 in Stuhr, Niedersachsen (GER)
Measurements182 cm / 83 kg
AffiliationsFIAT Torino, Torino (ITA)
NOC Italy

Biography

Chiaffredo “Dino” Rora was one of four Italian swimmers who held a European record. Born in Torino, and under the coach Usmiani, he was a serious and quiet boy: very strong in individual events and a stalwart on the first leg of relays. Rora débuted with the National team in 1961 and one year later won all the Italian titles in backstroke, all in Italian record time, and he was a substitute at the 1962 European Championships in Leipzig.

After good results at the 1963 Mediterranean Games on home soil, the following year Rora won six National titles and, at the Tokyo Olympics, was a semi-finalist in the 200 backstroke and helped Italy to finish seventh in the medley relay. In 1965 he won eight Italian titles (individual and relays) and helped the National team to an historical victory in the Six Nations event in Roma defeating Great Britain, Sweden, Netherlands, West Germany and France. Rora earned 15 caps with the National team from 1961-65. He won eight Italian titles in the 100 backstroke and seven in the 200 back. Rora set a European record at Split in 1963 in the 100 backstroke, recording 1:01.9.

Rora hoped to compete at the 1966 European Championships in Utrecht and was called to compete in the important Bremen’s meeting at the beginning of this year. On the evening of 28 January Rora died in an aviation crash alongside Olympians Bruno Bianchi and Sergio De Gregorio, and several other swimmers – Amedeo Chimisso, Carmen Longo, Daniela Samuele, Luciana Massenzi, the coach and Olympian between the two World Wars Paolo Costoli and the well-known sports commentator Nico Sapio. At the funeral in Roma every coffin was covered by an Olympic flag.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1964 Summer Olympics Swimming (Aquatics) ITA Dino Rora
200 metres Backstroke, Men (Olympic) 9
4 × 100 metres Medley Relay, Men (Olympic) Italy 7

Special Notes