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Pietro Paolo Mennea (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛtro menˈnɛa]; 28 June 1952 – 21 March 2013) was an Italian sprinter and politician, who was the 1980 Moscow Olympic 200 meter champion, and also held the 200 m world record for almost 17 years (the longest time ever in the race's history) with his time of 19.72 seconds, set in September 1979 - still the European record as of date.

Biography
Mennea, who was born in Barletta, started his long international athletic career in 1971, when he won the first of his 14 Italian outdoor titles in the 100/200. He went on to win 2 indoor titles at 60/400, along with 5 Mediterranean Games gold medals in 100/200. He competed at the European Championships with a third place in the 4 x 100 m relay. He made his Olympic debut at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where he made the final of the 200m, his strongest event. He crossed the line in third place, behind Valeri Borzov and Larry Black. Three more Olympic 200 metre finals would follow later in his career...

Early life🇮🇹 [[italy|ITA]] best athlete
At the 1974 European Championships, Mennea claimed the 200 m gold in front of his home crowd in Rome, while also placing second behind Borzov in the 100 m and the 4 x 100 m. After some poor performances in the 1976 Olympic season, Mennea decided to skip the Olympics, but when the Italian public protested Mennea went to Montreal. He did make it to the final of the 200 m, but saw Don Quarrie take the gold, leaving the Italian in fourth. He again placed fourth when the Italian relay team just missed out on the bronze.

In 1977 he finished second in the world cup 200, where a photo finish separated him from Clancy Edwards of the United States. He successfully defended his European 200 m title in 1978, but displayed his capabilities in the 100 metres by also winning that event in Prague.

200 metres world record
In 1979, Mennea placed first in the 100 metres and second in the 200 m behind Allan Wells of Great Britain in the European Cup. Later in the year, he took part in the World University Games, which were held on the high-altitude track of Mexico City. On 12 September 1979, he won the 200 metres with a time of 19.72. His time set a new world record, beating Tommie Smith's time of 19.83 set on the same track in the 1968 Summer Olympics. The record held for seventeen years before Michael Johnson broke it at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials. As of 1st of September 2013, only eight athletes have recorded a better time over 200 metres than Mennea. His time stands as the current European record. He also held the low-altitude world record, 19.96, from 1980 to 1983, set in his home town of Barletta. On 17 August 1980, Mennea became the first sprinter to break 20 seconds for the 200 metres for the third time.


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Olympic champion
Entering the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Mennea was a favourite for the Olympic gold, in part because of the American boycott of the event. In the 200 metre final, Mennea faced reigning champion Don Quarrie, and 100 metre champion Allan Wells. Wells got out to a fast start, but Mennea gained ground on the straight, and passed him at the very end of the race, winning the gold by a mere 0.02 seconds. Later in the games, he was the anchor man on the Italian bronze medal winning 4 × 400 relay team. He also competed in the 100 metres during the games, reaching the semi-finals.


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