Gianni Poli

Pier Giovanni “Gianni” Poli started as a distance runner on the track but quickly graduated into a specialist marathon runner. He ran his first marathon at the age of 22 in 1980 and the next year he negotiated with his employers to give him time off work so he could properly prepare for the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan. This approach paid off as he set a new national record.

Poli made his international championships début in 1982 where he finished 13th in the European Championships in Athens and improved on this in 1983 when he was 7th at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Helsinki and took three quarters of a minute off his Italian record.

Poli won the only Italian title of his career when the marathon championships were held in conjunction with the Milan Marathon in 1984. He equalled his national record there but was not able to compete at that year’s Olympic Games. The next few years were the best of his career as he became the first Italian to run a sub 2-10 marathon in 1985 then won the New York Marathon in 1986. He became a consistent high finisher in big city marathons even if that form did not translate to major championships until he won a silver medal at the 1990 European Championships when Italy had a sweep of the medals.

As the 90s continued his form tailed off although he remained competitive in big city marathons until his retirement in 1994. He kept an interest in the sport by becoming the chief organizer of three of Italy’s top road races – The Sarnico Lovere Run, the Bibione Half Marathon and the Cortina-Dobbiaco run.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-09:33 (1988).