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Roberto Marson (29 June 1944 – 7 November 2011) was an Italian multisport athlete who competed at the
At the
Roberto Marson
at Memoria paralimpica
Il pioniere primo italiano nella Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marson, Roberto Italian male swimmers Italian male table tennis players Paralympic swimmers of Italy Paralympic athletes of Italy Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Italy Paralympic silver medalists for Italy Paralympic bronze medalists for Italy Wheelchair category Paralympic competitors Paralympic wheelchair fencers of Italy Wheelchair fencers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair fencers at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair fencers at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair fencers at the 1976 Summer Paralympics 2011 deaths 1944 births Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Italian male fencers Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic medalists in wheelchair fencing
Summer Paralympics
The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebra ...
on four occasions and won a total of 26 Paralympic medals. He lost the use of his legs when a pine tree he was chopping down fell on his back.
He is included in Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame
The Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which was established by the International Paralympic Committee.
On 30 August 2012 five paralympic athletes were inducted into the fourth ''Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame'' in a ceremony in Londo ...
of the International Paralympic Committee.
Biography
Marson made his first Paralympic appearance, representing Italy, in the second ever Games inTokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Japan, in 1964. He competed in three different sports: athletics, wheelchair fencing and swimming. In athletics he won two gold medals and two silver medals, setting a new world record of 24.20 metres in the men's javelin
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with t ...
C classification. He finished fourth in both of the freestyle swimming events in which he competed. In the individual fencing events Marson won silver in épée
The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...
and sabre, but alongside compatriots Franco Rossi and Rengo Rogo he won a team épée gold medal and a team sabre bronze medal.
At the 1968 Summer Paralympics
The 1968 Summer Paralympics ( he, המשחקים הפאראלימפיים בקיץ 1968) were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), they were known as th ...
held in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, Israel, Marson was proclaimed the outstanding athlete of the Games after winning ten gold medals; three in athletics field events, three in swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
and four in wheelchair fencing
Wheelchair fencing is a version of fencing for athletes with a disability. Wheelchair fencing is governed by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation that is a federation of the International Paralympic Committee, and is one of ...
. His swimming golds all came on the same day as he won the 50 metres events for freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke. In wheelchair fencing he won individual gold for épée, foil and sabre. He was joined by Giovanni Ferraris, Vittorio Loi, Franco Rossi and Germano Zanarotto to defeat France 5–4 in the final and win gold for Italy in the team foil. With Ferraris and Zanarotto he won a silver in team sabre and also won silver in the team épée alongside Loi and Rossi. He successfully defended the Paralympic javelin and discus titles that he had won in Tokyo and added a third athletics gold medal in the club throw and a bronze in the shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
.
In 1972 at the Paralympics in Heidelberg, Marson contested a single athletics event and four wheelchair fencing events. He finished fourth in the men's discus 4 event with the gold being won by Canadian Eugene Reimer. In the individual épée, individual sabre and team épée events he retained his Paralympic titles, but his Italian team was beaten to the gold medal in the team sabre by Great Britain.
Marson's final Paralympic Games came in 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...
in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
, Canada. He failed to win medals in either of his athletic events or the individual wheelchair fencing events, but did take a bronze medal in the men's team épée. He was President of Federazione Italiana Sport Handicappati from 1980 until 1990. He died in 2011 and in 2012 he was inducted into the International Paralympian Hall of Fame. On 14 May 2021, Jovian asteroid 39795 Marson, discovered by astronomers at Spacewatch
The Spacewatch Project is an astronomical survey that specializes in the study of minor planets, including various types of asteroids and comets at University of Arizona telescopes on Kitt Peak near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The Spa ...
in 1997, was in his memory.
See also
*List of multiple Paralympic gold medalists
This is a list of multiple Paralympic gold medalists, listing people who have won ten or more gold medals at the Paralympic Games. The Paralympics listed for each athlete only include games when they won medals. See the particular article on the ...
* List of multiple Paralympic gold medalists at a single Games
List of most gold medals won at a single Paralympic Games
This is a list of gold medallists with four or more gold medals won in a single Paralympic Games, or the gold medallist with the highest number of gold medals won at a Paralympic Games, inc ...
* IPC inducts new members into its Hall of Fame
* Italy at the Paralympics - Multiple medallists
References
External links
*Roberto Marson
at Memoria paralimpica
Il pioniere primo italiano nella Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marson, Roberto Italian male swimmers Italian male table tennis players Paralympic swimmers of Italy Paralympic athletes of Italy Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Italy Paralympic silver medalists for Italy Paralympic bronze medalists for Italy Wheelchair category Paralympic competitors Paralympic wheelchair fencers of Italy Wheelchair fencers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair fencers at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair fencers at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair fencers at the 1976 Summer Paralympics 2011 deaths 1944 births Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Italian male fencers Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic medalists in wheelchair fencing