On This Day in Olympic History …

On this day in Olympic history, …

303 Olympians were born, including Britain’s track & field athlete Robbie Brightwell, who was disappointed not to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but whose day was brightened when his fiancé, Ann Packer, won the women’s 800 metre gold medal; and the Italian alpine skiiers Giuliano Giardini and Claudia Giordani, who must have tortured the Italian media trying to get their names straight; and Mary T. Meagher, “Madame Butterfly,” universally considered the greatest female butterfly swimmer of all-time, and whose middle name, in case you didn’t know, stood for Terstegge; and Maria Mutola, the pioneering middle-distance runner from Mozambique, who won gold in the 800 metres at Sydney in 2000; and …

58 Olympians died, including American boxer Bob Carmody, a flyweight bronze medalist at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, who died fighting in Vietnam; and Olga Gyarmati, Hungarian who won the gold medal in the long jump in 1948, and is still usually considered Hungary’s greatest female track & field athlete; and …

7 Olympic events were contested, including 5 boxing events at the 1908 Olympics, a rugby match at the 1900 Olympics, and the equestrian team jumping that ended the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

On this week in Olympic history …

The Much Wenlock Games were held for the first time on 22 October 1850 in Much Wenlock, a small village in rural Shropshire, England. The Games were one of the early attempts at the revival of the Olympic Movement and were a major influence on Pierre de Coubertin, who visited them in 1889; and …

On 23 October 1974, at the 75th IOC Session in Wien (Vienna), Lake Placid, New York, USA was selected as host of the 13th Olympic Winter Games (1980), and Moskva (Moscow), Russia, USSR was selected as host of the Games of the XXIInd Olympiad (1980).

Pedro Quartucci

[table]

Parameter,Value

Full Name,Pedro Vicente Ernesto Quartucci

Born,30 July 1905 in Buenos Aires

Died,20 April 1983 in Buenos Aires

[/table]

After winning his bronze medal at the 1924 Olympics, Pedro Quartucci turned professional and fought four pro bouts in 1925, winning three and losing one. The first three were in the New York area, but he then returned to Argentina, losing his final bout that year to Luis Rayo on points. Quartucci then took a break, and fought one more time, winning a decision over Socrates Mitre in Buenos Aires on April 1928, and Quartucci then retired from boxing.

Quartucci then turned to acting, becoming one of the best known Argentine actors and appearing in over 60 films. He had actually been a child actor well before his Olympic appearance, acting in ‘Til After Her Death in 1916. His next film was in 1931, in Las luces de Buenos Aires. He acted in films until 1980, with his best known films La familia Falcón in 1962, The Man from Saturday in 1947, and La familia Falcón as a television series in 1963. Quartucci died of a heart attack in his native Buenos Aires in 1983.

[table]

Games/Sport,Event,Position,Medal

1924 Boxing,Featherweight,3,Bronze

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