Adolfo Consolini

Adolfo Consolini (5 January 1917 – 20 December 1969) was an Italian discus thrower. He competed at the 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics and finished in 1st, 2nd, 6th and 17 place, respectively. While winning the gold medal in 1948 he set an Olympic record at 52.78 m. Consolini won three European titles, in 1946, 1950 and 1954, and 15 national titles.

Biography Consolini was the youngest of five children in a farmer family. His first athletics competition was a local stone throwing contest in 1937. A few months later he started training in the discus and won the British AAA Championships title at the 1938 AAA Championships. Shortly afterwards in September, he finished fifth at the European championships, and in 1939 won the first of his 15 national titles. In 1941 he set a new world record at 53.34 m, which he extended to 54.23 m in 1946 and to 55.33 m in 1948.

Consolini retired from top sport after the 1960 Olympics, but continued competing at the national level until the age of 52, when he threw 43.94 m in Milan. He married Hanny Cuk, an Austrian, and had a son Sergio with her. The family settled in Milan where Consolini worked at Pirelli company the rest of his life. He died aged 52 from a viral hepatitis.

Achievements

National titles He won fifteen times the national championships at senior level.

Italian Athletics Championships Discus throw: 1939, 1941, 1942, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960