Sergio Ottolina has died, Italian athletics mourns

Sergio Ottolina died

Sergio Ottolina is no more. The news of his passing at age 80 came in the evening of April 28.

Born in Lentate sul Seveso in Brianza, Italy, on November 23, 1942, Ottolina had been Italy’s best junior in the 100 in 1960 but specialized in the double distance: in ’62 he was able to win the Notturna di Milano by running in 20.7 just two-tenths off the world record. He had a memorable career all concentrated in the 1960s that saw him win a bronze medal at the European Championships in Belgrade in 1962 but above all set an extraordinary European record in the 200 meters on June 21, 1964 in Saarbrucken with 20”4 as part of the Germany-Italy meet. Extraordinary also because it erased the record set by friend-rival Livio Berruti with 20”5 that had enabled Berruti to win the Olympic semifinal and final in Rome ’60.