Zeno Colò
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 June 1920 Abetone,Tuscany,Italy |
| Died | 12 May 1993(aged 72) San Marcello Pistoiese, Tuscany, Italy |
| Occupation | Alpine skier |
| Skiing career | |
| Disciplines | Downhill,giant slalom,slalom,combined |
| Retired | 1954 (age 33) |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 2 – (1948,1952) |
| Medals | 1 (1 gold) |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 3 – (1948,1950,1952) includes two Olympics |
| Medals | 4 (3 gold) |
Medal record | |
Zeno Colò(30 June 1920 – 12 May 1993) was a championalpine ski racerfromItaly.Born inCutigliano,Tuscany,he was among the top ski racers of the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Career
[edit]At theWorld Championshipsin1950inAspen,he won gold medals in bothdownhillandgiant slalom,and the silver inslalom.[1][2][3][4]Two years later, at the1952 OlympicsinOslo,he won gold in thedownhill,[5]and finished fourth in thegiant slalomandslalom.Italy waited two decades for its next Olympic gold in alpine skiing,Gustav Thöni's win ingiant slalomin1972.[6]
Colò won theLauberhorndownhill inWengenin 1948, and took the slalom title there in 1949 and 1950. Following his near-sweep at Aspen in 1950, he also won all threeNorth Americantitles in downhill, slalom, and combined the following week inCanadaatMt NorquaynearBanff, Alberta.[7][8]At the1948 OlympicsinSt. Moritz,Colò finished 14th in theslalom,but did not finish in thedownhill,which also eliminated him from thecombined.He set aspeed world record on skisin 1947, clocked at 98.7 mph (158.8 km/h) on the Italian side of theLittle Matterhorn.[9]which stood for 13 years.[10]
After the 1952 Olympics, Colò linked his name to a line of ski clothing and, according to the regulations of the time, he was considered a professional. In 1954, he was disqualified by theItalian Winter Sports Federation(FISI) and was not allowed to participate in subsequent races, notably the1954 World ChampionshipsinÅre,and he retired at age 33. The ban was lifted 35 years later in 1989.
Colò became a ski instructor in his native Abetone, helped develop the Pistoia ski resort, and promoted the Abetone Ski Company. In 1973, he designed three ski slopes that descend from the Gomito mountain, named Zeno 1, 2, and 3.
Colò died in 1993 fromlung cancerat age 72 inSan Marcello Pistoiesein Tuscany. Theasteroid58709 Zenocolò,discovered in 1998, was named in his honor.
World championship results
[edit]| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 27 | 14 | not run | not run | DNF | DNF DH |
| 1950 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 1 | not run | |
| 1952 | 31 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
From1948through1980,theWinter Olympicswere also theWorld Championshipsfor alpine skiing.
Olympic results
[edit]
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 27 | 14 | not run | not run | DNF | DNF DH |
| 1952 | 31 | 4 | 4 | 1 | not run |
See also
[edit]- Legends of Italian sport - Walk of Fame
- Italy at the Olympics - gold medalists
- List of Olympic medalists in alpine skiing
- List of Alpine Skiing world champions
- Italy national alpine ski at the World championships
References
[edit]- ^"Italian wins Downhill title".Eugene Register-Guard.Associated Press. 19 February 1950. p. 13A.
- ^"Italian wins Giant Slalom".Spokesman-Review.Associated Press. 15 February 1950. p. 12.
- ^"World slalom title won by Swiss rider".Milwaukee Sentinel.Associated Press. 17 February 1950. p. 4-part 2.
- ^Howe, Nicholas (January 1989)."A time to remember".Skiing.pp. 106–108.
- ^Smits, Ted (17 February 1952)."Yank skaters set pace in Olympics".Eugene Register-Guard.Associated Press. p. 12.
- ^Stevenson, Jack (11 February 1972)."Italian gold medals twenty years apart".Schenectady Gazette.Associated Press. p. 28.
- ^Dunn, Nigel (27 February 1950)."Veteran Italian skier dominates North American championship meet".Calgary Herald.p. 20.
- ^"Sports briefs".Ludington Daily News.Michigan. Associated Press. 27 February 1950. p. 6.
- ^"Girl skier hits speed of 70 m.p.h. at Kosciusko".Sydney Morning Herald.2 August 1955. p. 1.
- ^"Skier clocks 98.9 mph".Spokesman-Review.Associated Press. 4 August 1960. p. 13.
External links
[edit]- Zeno ColòatFIS(alpine)
- Zeno ColòatOlympics.com
- Zeno ColòatOlympedia
- Zeno Colòat theItalian National Olympic Committee(in Italian)
- 1920 births
- 1993 deaths
- Sportspeople from the Province of Pistoia
- Italian male alpine skiers
- Olympic alpine skiers for Italy
- Olympic gold medalists for Italy
- Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics
- Olympic medalists in alpine skiing
- Medalists at the 1952 Winter Olympics
- Deaths from lung cancer in Tuscany