Nereo Svara

In his student days Italian track and field athlete Nereo Svara competed in the high jump before his coach suggested that he should specialise in the 110 metres hurdles. Svara excelled in the new discipline and was soon selected to represent the national team, competing at the 1958 European Championships in Stockholm. The following year he won gold at the Italian championships and silver at the Summer Universiade in Torino. These performances earned Svara a place on the Italian Olympic team for the 1960 Roma Games where he reached the semi-finals. In 1962 he won his second Italian title before retiring from athletics later that year. Svara later became a noted entrepreneur in and around Trieste where he served as the Vice-President of the Retail Traders Association and represented the local Chamber of Commerce.

Personal Best: 110H – 14.0 (1960).