Marcella Jeandeau

Marcella Jeandeau tried her hand at cycling and skating prior to settling on athletics as her sport of choice. Her first interest was in the 80 metre hurdles, but she eventually settled on the 100 and 200 metre sprint distances, which led to her being selected to represent Italy at the 1948 London Olympics, even though she never won a national title. At the Games she competed alongside Mirella Avalle, Anna Maria Cantù, and Liliana Tagliaferri in the 4x100 metres relay, but the quartet did not complete their round one race and were eliminated. Jeandeau retired from competition shortly thereafter, but she remained athletically active into her 70s in a variety of sports, including volleyball and tennis.

Personal Best: 100 – 12.6 (1948).