Ugo Frigerio

1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)Weight55 kg (121 lb)SportCountry ItalySportAthleticsEventRace walkClubUS MilaneseAchievements and titlesPersonal bests

• 10 km walk – 44:38.0 (1925)
• 50 km walk – 4:59:06 (1932)

Ugo Frigerio (16 September 1901 – 7 July 1968) was an Italian race walker. He competed in four events at the 1920, 1924 and 1932 Olympics ranging from 3 to 50 km and won three gold and one bronze medals.^[1] He was the Olympic flag bearer for Italy in 1924 and 1932.^[2]

Biography

Nationally Frigerio won nine race walking titles: in the 3 km (1921, 1922), 10 km (1919–1922, 1924, 1931), and one-hour walk (1920).^[3]

Before the 3 km Olympic race in 1920 in Antwerp Frigerio gave pages of sheet music that he wanted to hear to the band playing at the competition venue. During the race he would scold the conductor when the band was deviating from its tempo, and chat to the public, which eventually began to cheer him.^[4][5]

Frigerio semi-retired after learning that race walking was excluded from the 1928 Summer Olympics. He resumed training in 1931 to prepare for the 1932 Games, where the only walking event was 50 km, five times longer than his favorite 10 km distance. He won a bronze medal and retired for good, becoming a sports administrator. In 1934, he wrote an autobiography titled Marciando nel nome dell’Italia (Walking in the Name of Italy).^[5]

Olympic achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Performance	Note
1920	Olympic Games	Antwerp	1st	3 km walk	13:14,2
			1st	10 km walk	48:06.2
1924	Olympic Games	Paris	1st	10 km walk	47:49.0
1932	Olympic Games	Los Angeles	3rd	50 km walk	4:59:06

See also

• Legends of Italian sport - Walk of Fame
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• FIDAL Hall of Fame

References

External links

• Ugo Frigerio at World Athletics
• Ugo Frigerio at European Athletics
• Ugo Frigerio at the Italian Athletics Federation (in Italian)
• Ugo Frigerio at Olympics.com
• Ugo Frigerio at Olympedia
• Ugo Frigerio at the Italian National Olympic Committee (in Italian)