Sulle tracce del trionfo italiano nella pesistica alle Olimpiadi di Parigi 1924

Abstract

Weightlifting emerged in Italy during the late 19th century, particularly within the industrial triangle of Turin, Genoa and Milan.On an international level, the sport’s debut occurred at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens and the 1904 St. Louis Games, in addition to the 1906 Athens ‘Intermediate Games,’ which featured exercises rooted in the French method. Central European countries practised a divergent method, which would soon become known as the continental method. The two methods remained at odds with one another, failing to reach a compromise, until the outbreak of the First World War. However, the 1916 Berlin Olympics had the potential to alter the course of history. Central European lifters had increasingly adopted the French method, and while the opposition remained on the two-handed jerk, a compromise was theoretically reached for Berlin, leaving the athlete free to choose the preferred way of performing the jerk. The Italian contingent, under the patronage of Marquis Monticelli Obizzi, had become versed in both methods, though the French one had gained the upper hand. Following the First World War, and with Austria and Germany excluded from active participation, France proceeded to impose its own method. Later on, it established an international governing body (FIH) at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, where Italy achieved a noteworthy result. During the four-year Olympic period leading up to Paris 1924, a contentious relationship emerged between the countries that had been excluded from the Olympics and France. France administered the FIH with rigidity, and any attempt to overturn this top-down management was fruitless. Italy, already grappling with a difficult political life and ruled by fascism since 1922, adopted a low profile, avoiding any compromise, partially obtaining recognition for its records and preparing for an unexpected triumph in Paris 1924 thanks to Gabetti, Galimberti and Tonani. The history of this fruitful course has been reconstructed, however, avoiding the track of the official book of the IWF (heir of the FIH), Il passato perduto (The Lost Past), as it omits some important historical issues and is marred by interpretations that are erroneous, incomplete and not adherent to the real connections of the true facts