Giuseppe DORDONI

Pipo Dordoni was the successor to Ugo Frigero, and was the dominant Italian race walker between 1946 and 1957. He gathered 24 national titles in that period, including 11 in the 10 km. His greatest successes, however, were in the 50 km, winning the longest track and field event at the 1950 European Championships and the 1952 Olympics. He retired after his fourth Olympics in Rome, and trained the Italian race walking team for decades. During this period, he coached Olympic champions Abdon Pamich and Maurizio Damilano. Dordoni also served on the board of the Italian Athletics Federation, and was still on the IAAF Race Walking Committee when he died of cancer in 1998.

Personal Bests: 10kmW – 45:42.2 (1954); 20kmW – 1-32:38 (1960); 50kmW – 4-28:07 (1952).