Renzo SAMBO

Together with Primo Baran, Renzo Sambo formed one of the top coxed pairs in the late 1960s. They first placed on the podium at the 1965 Europeans, with a silver medal (with coxswain Giorgio Conte). A year later, they placed third at the World Championships (now steered by Enrico Pietropolli). In 1967, Baran and Sambo first won a gold medal, at the Europeans, with yet another cox, teenager Bruno Cipolla. This crew remained intact for the Mexico Olympics, where Italy defeated the reigning Dutch World Champions to earn Olympic gold. Sambo, a fifteen-fold Italian champion, then switched to the coxed fours, but with less international success than in his previous boat. He later became a coach with Circolo Ospedalieri Treviso, which organizes the Renzo Sambo Memorial Regatta since he passed away because of an incurable disease in 2009.