Marsilio Rossi

Marsilio Rossi was an Italian one-lap specialist in the 1930s. In the years in which the 400 metres in Italy was dominated initially by Ettore Tavernari and then Mario Lanzi, Rossi was able to distinguish himself in 1936-37.

Of considerable stature at 1.90 m tall, and not yet 20, Rossi won the Italian 400 title on 29 June 1936 in Bologna (49.2, his personal best) in front of the 18-year-old Otello Spampani (49.5) and Angelo Ferrario (49.9). This qualified Rossi for the 1936 Berlin Games where he ran only the 4x400 relay (second leg) in which Italy failed to make the final. Rossi won five international caps from 1935-37. The war put an end to his sporting activity, and he passed away on the Russian front in December 1942 at only 26.

Personal Best: 400 – 49.2 (1936).