Ermenegildo Arena ( Italian: Ermenegildo Arena ; February 25, 1921 , Naples - February 8, 2005 , ibid.) Is an Italian water polo player who played for the Italian national water polo team in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Champion of the Summer Olympic Games in London , bronze medalist of the Olympics in Helsinki , European champion, six-time champion of the Italian national championship as part of the teams Rari Nantes and Circolo Canottieri. Also known as a swimmer .
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| A country |  Italy |
| Specialization | Water polo |
| Club | Circolo canottieri |
| Date of Birth | February 25, 1921 |
| Place of Birth | Naples , Italy |
| Date of death | February 8, 2005 (83 years old) |
| A place of death | Naples , Italy |
Biography
Gildo Arena was born on February 25, 1921 in Naples , Italy . He began his career at the local Naples club Rari Nantes, with whom he became the champion of Italy in water polo six times (1939, 1941, 1942, 1949, 1950).
He achieved his first serious success in the international arena in the 1947 season, when he entered the main squad of the Italian national team and attended the European Championship in Monte Carlo , from where he brought the golden dignity award.
Thanks to a series of successful performances, he was awarded the right to defend the country's honor at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London - the Italians did not suffer a single defeat in the men's water polo program and won gold Olympic medals. At the same time, the Arena took part in all six matches of his team, scored a total of 13 goals, including four goals in the decisive games with Hungary and the Netherlands.
In 1951, Gildo Arena moved into a rival club from Naples Circolo Canottieri, with whom he immediately won the Italian national championship. “For the change of team, they gave me a Fiat 500 car and 500 thousand lire money. I was the first professional water polo player. ”
The International Swimming Federation still did not consider him a professional athlete and allowed him to participate in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki . The Italian team failed to repeat the success of four years ago, having settled down in the final protocol in the third bronze position. The arena played here in all eight matches of the national team.
In addition to water polo, Gildo Arena also had some success in swimming , became the champion of Italy in such disciplines as 100 meters, 200 meters and the 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay race.
He died on February 8, 2005 at the age of 83 years [1] [2] .
Notes
- ↑ Pallanuoto in lutto E 'morto Gildo Arena (Italian) , Federazione Italiana Nuoto (February 8, 2005). Archived July 16, 2011. Date of treatment December 21, 2010.
- ↑ Il gigante delle piscine (Italian) , Napoli.com (February 10, 2008). Date of treatment December 21, 2010.
Links
- Gildo Arena - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com
- Ermenegildo Arena (English) - page on the website of the International Olympic Committee