Agostino Straulino

Tino Straulino was a five-time Olympic sailor, competing consecutively from 1948-64, winning gold in the Star Class in 1952 and a silver in Star in 1956. Straulino won three World Championships in Star boats (1952-53, 1956) and also won the 1965 World title in the 5.5 metre class. Between 1938 and 1959 he was a 10-time European Champion and won 12 Italian titles from 1938-56.

Straulino graduated from the Royal Nautical Institute of Venezia in 1932 and then joined Livorno’s Naval Academy in 1934. In World War II he was with the Assault Corps of the Gamma Group that placed explosive charges at the entrance to the Gibraltar harbor.

After World War II Straulino was in a mine clearing accident and almost lost his sight but was able to continue sailing. In 1965 he became commander of the Amerigo Vespucci, the crownship of the Italian Navy, alternating school commitments with offshore races, winning the One Ton Cup and the Giraglia in 1973. He continued competing into his late 80s, winning the over-60 regatta in Napoli for the fifth consecutive time at age 88.

In 2001 Straulino was awarded the honor of Knight of the Grand Cross of the Italian Republic by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. In May 2015 a plaque dedicated to him was included in the Walk of Fame of Italian sport at the Foro Italico Olympic Park in Roma, reserved for Italian athletes who have distinguished themselves internationally.