Francesco Faggi (8 March 1926 – 12 June 2016) was an Italian

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

who competed in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

and in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

. He was born in

Perledo Perledo ( Comasco, Lecchese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northwest of Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants ...

in 1926. A worker at the Italian motorbike manufacturer

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcyclin ...

based at their plant in

Mandello del Lario Mandello del Lario ( Lecchese: ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecco, in Lombardy, on Lake Como. Since 1921, Mandello del Lario has been home to Moto Guzzi—the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, now a subsidiary of Piag ...

, he became a member of the company's rowing team, Canottieri Moto Guzzi. A coxless four was formed with

Giuseppe Moioli Giuseppe Moioli (8 August 1927 – 5 May 2025) was an Italian rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics, in the 1952 Summer Olympics, and in the 1956 Summer Olympics. Biography Moioli was born in Olcio di Mandello Lario in 1927. A worker ...

Elio Morille Elio Morille (7 September 1927 – 21 June 1998) was an Italian rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was born in Alessandria in 1927. A worker at the Italian motorbike manufacturer Moto Guzzi based ...

, Giovanni Invernizzi, and Faggi. The first time they left their home training ground,

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

, was when they travelled to the

1947 European Rowing Championships The 1947 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Rotsee in the Swiss city of Lucerne. The competition was for men only, they competed in all seven Olympic boat classes (M1x, M2x, M2-, M2+, M4-, M4+, M8+), and 15 nation ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, Switzerland. Little known in rowing circles, they unexpectedly won the gold medal in their boat class. The four were to dominate this boat class until 1952, continuously winning all races they rowed including all heats. In 1948 he was a crew member of the Italian boat which won the gold medal in the coxless fours event. Four years later he was eliminated with the Italian boat in the semi-final repechage of the coxless four competition. He died in Perledo in 2016.

References

1926 births 2016 deaths Italian male rowers Olympic rowers for Italy Rowers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Italy Rowers from the Province of Lecco Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics European Rowing Championships medalists 20th-century Italian sportsmen {{Italy-Olympic-medalist-stub