Giovanni Cornacchia

Giovanni Cornacchia competed in the 110 metres hurdles throughout the 1960s. At the 1960 Roma Olympics he was eliminated in the quarter-finals. He won silver at the 1962 European Championships in Beograd in 14.0. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Cornacchia made the final, placing seventh, alongside two other Italian athletes, Eddy Ottoz (fourth) and Giorgio Mazza (eighth), all coached by Professor Sandro Calvesi, husband of the Olympian Gabre Gabric.

In the following years, Cornacchia had other top results. He placed second at the 1965 Budapest Universiade, fifth at the 1966 European Championships, and won a gold medal at the 1967 Mediterranean Games. In 1968 he competed at his third Olympic Games but was eliminated in the heats. He retired after 1968 with 24 caps. Cornacchia also won three Italian titles – in 1960, 1962 and 1964.

Cornacchia was hit hard by the death of his wife, Adele, and his young daughter Simona (from a car accident). He later served as the Italian hurdlers coach for the Barcelona Olympics. He was also President of the Pescara’s section of the Italian Olympic Committee and a member of the executive board of the 2009 Mediterranean Games. Unfortunately, he did not get to see those, as he died at 69 in his home in Pescara from a heart attack. A few months later, the renovated stadium in his hometown was named for him.

Personal Best: 110H – 14.06 (1964).