In his early 20s Lamberto Dalla Costa enlisted as a volunteer in the Italian Air Force. He became a combat pilot rising to the rank of air marshal. As a military pilot he was awarded a silver medal for valor. In 1951, as sergeant-major he was selected through a series of tests to recruit bob pilots. Even though he had never practiced high-level competitive sport, Dalla Costa demonstrated the right skills for this discipline. After a series of attempts, a crew was formed with Air Force major Giacomo Conti, which proved to work immediately, and they trained and rode almost exclusively on the Cortina d’Ampezzo track. Using their home advantage the team won the gold medal in the two-man at the 1956 Winter Olympics, more than a second ahead of Italy II piloted by the legendary Eugenio Monti, which was Italy’s only gold medal at their home Olympics. At the 1957 World Championships Dalla Costa finished fourth and then retired from competition. He was invited to inaugurate the bobsleigh track at Cervinia and in 1965 received the gold medal of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).
Italy