Stephen James "Steve" Moneghetti, (born 26 September 1962), is an Australian long-distance runner and physical health consultant who has represented Australia on many occasions. Moneghetti has a degree in civil engineering, a graduate diploma in education and an honorary doctorate from the

University of Ballarat The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, un ...

. He is a personal development consultant with the Ministry of Education and chair of the Victorian Review into Physical and Sport Education in Schools. Moneghetti was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

, Victoria, and was not considered to be a good runner in primary school. When he attempted to join Little Athletics, his father was told that Moneghetti was not wanted. However, by high school ( St Patrick's College, Ballarat) he had developed into an excellent endurance athlete and was well on his way to becoming one of Australia's greatest marathon runners. He is married to Tanya Moneghetti, and they have four children: Emma, Laura, Matthew and Olivia. He started out as a 10,000-metre runner and finished fifth in that event at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

. He ran his first

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

at the same meet, winning the bronze medal. His first marathon victory was in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1990 with the time of 2:08:16, coming only a couple of weeks after winning the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the AJ Bell Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shie ...

in 1:00:34. In 1991 he set the course record of 40:03 for Sydney's iconic 14 km City 2 Surf, which still stands. In 1994, he won the Tokyo Marathon and the marathon at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. He came 3rd in the 1997 World Championships marathon race. He has also competed in the marathon at four Olympic Games: 1988 in Seoul, 1992 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, 1996 in Atlanta and 2000 in Sydney. His best performance in the Olympics was 5th place at Seoul in 1988. Moneghetti's last race representing Australia was the Sydney 2000 Olympic Marathon. After meeting trouble in the middle of the race he recovered to finish 10th. In the interview after the race, he thanked Australia for its support during his long career. Moneghetti continued to race for fun in other events in Australia such as the City to Surf and Sydney and Melbourne Marathons on an infrequent basis. He is the only male to have won the Sydney City to Surf four times in succession (1988–1991). On 25 July 2010, Moneghetti won the Park2Park 10 km race at Ipswich in Queensland, finishing with a race record time of 32:18. In 2014, he competed in the Oceania Masters Athletics Cross Country Championships hosted in Bendigo. Moneghetti won the event, against strong competition from the likes of future U50 masters world champion Michael Wray. He lit the cauldron in his hometown of Ballarat to celebrate the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. He was the Mayor of the Commonwealth Games Village at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006. In 2010 he was named as the Australian team's '' chef de mission'' for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. In 2014 he was named a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

. On 24 September 2017 he finished the 44th Berlin Marathon in the time of 3:27:30. In 2021, he was inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame as a general member. In 2022 Moneghetti ran the fastest ever time for 5000 meters for the 60 and over age category, in 15 minutes and 52 seconds. Moneghetti's heritage can be traced to the Swiss Italians of Australia.

Media

Moneghetti appears in the 2012 feature film '' Reverse Runner''. He plays the fictional character of John Johns, a retired champion at the 100 metres backwards sprint. The film is a sporting comedy which also features a cameo from sports broadcaster Bruce McAvaney.

References