) was an Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

 Greco-Roman wrestler. He won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 1984

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

, 1988

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 and 1992

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

 Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

.

Career

Nicknamed "Pollicino" (Thumbelin) for his small size, actually Vincenzo Maenza is considered the best wrestler in the Italian history; in fact, he is the first and only Italian wrestler who has won three Olympic medals, and he was also the first and only who was able to win two gold medals.

When was a child, Vincenzo weighed only 60 lbs and was affected by scoliosis

Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex three-dimensional deformity, on an X-ray, viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line...

. He started to wrestle at 12 years old at the CISA AUDAX wrestling club in Faenza

Faenza

Faenza is an Italian city and comune, in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated 50 km southeast of Bologna.Faenza is noted for its manufacture of majolica ware glazed earthenware pottery, known from the name of the town as "faience"....

.

He began to compete in 1976. Soon he became National Champion several times and in 1979 won the silver medal at the Mediterranean Games in Split

Split (city)

Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...

. The next year he competed in the Summer Olympics in Moscow

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

 and placed 7th.
After he won the bronze medal at Junior European Championship and the gold medal at the Junior World Championship, in 1984 Vincenzo became Olympic champion for the first time at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

. In the final, he defeated German wrestler Mark Scherer in 1:59 with an awesome 12-0 score.

The 1987 was a golden year for the Italian wrestler: in fact, he became European Champion and silver medalist at World Championship. A year later, at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, Vincenzo won the gold medal for the second time, after defeated the strong Bulgarian wrestler Bratan Tzenov in the semifinal match and Andrzej Glab of Poland in the final match.
In 1992, at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, he arrived at the final match and won the silver medal, after was defeated by the Russian wrestler Oleg Kucherenko, who was ten years younger than him.

At the end of his career, Vincenzo Maenza's awards include: 3 Olympic Medals (two golds and one silver), 1 time European champion and 2 times bronze medalist, 1 time silver medalist and 2 times bronze medalist at the World Championships, 2 times gold medalist and 1 time bronze medalist at the Mediterranean Games.

In 2005, Vincenzo Maenza was inducted in the Fila International Wrestling Hall Of Fame.

Today, Vincenzo lives in Faenza with his family.

Athletic achievements

• 1978 - 2nd at MEC Tournament in Holland
• 1979 - Mediterranean Games (Split) silver medalist
• 1981 - European Championship (Bursa) bronze medalist
• 1982 - World Championship (Caracas) gold medalist
• 1983 - Mediterranean Games (Casablanca) gold medalist
• 1984 - Summer Olympic Games (Los Angeles) gold medalist
• 1984 - 1st at CEE Athens Cup
• 1984 - European Championship (Sweden) bronze medalist
• 1985 - World Super Championship (Tokyo) gold medalist
• 1986 - European Championship (Athens) bronze medalist
• 1987 - European Championship (Tampere) gold medalist
• 1987 - Mediterranean Games (Syria) gold medalist
• 1987 - World Championship (France) silver medalist
• 1988 - Summer Olympic Games (Seoul) gold medalist
• 1989 - 2nd at World Festival (Colorado)
• 1991 - Mediterranean Games bronze medalist
• 1992 - Summer Olympic Games (Barcelona) silver medalist

Medal of Honor and Sport Merit

Quotes

He said about wrestling:

Trivia

• Vincenzo loves music
  Music
  Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
  
  ; his favourite singers are Edoardo Bennato
  Edoardo Bennato
  Edoardo Bennato is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is the brother of the singer-songwriter Eugenio Bennato.-Biography:...
  
   and Barbra Streisand
  Barbra Streisand
  Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
  
  .
• He likes Sylvester Stallone
  Sylvester Stallone
  Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
  
  's films.
• His favourite soccer team is Juventus F.C.
  Juventus F.C.
  Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
  
  .
• He likes to read comic books.

External links

• Profile in the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame