Felice Mariani

Felice Mariani was a judoka who became known internationally when he won the 1974 European Juniors. In 1975 he won bronze at the World Championship. He was the first Italian judoka to win an Olympic medal with his 1976 bronze at Montrèal. Unable to compete at the 1980 Moskva Olympics because of the USA-led boycott, he came back to Los Angeles in 1984 and placed fourth.

Mariani was a three-time bronze medalist at the World Championships (1975, 1979, 1981) and was European Champion three times in a row (1978-80), also winning a silver medal in 1984. He won three medals at the Mediterranean Games with golds in 1979 and 1983, after a silver in 1975. At the World Military Championships Mariani won three gold medals (1976, 1981-82) and a bronze in 1977. He also won five Italian titles.

Once his sports career came to an end, he managed the Italian national team, leading Giulia Quintavalla to the gold medal in the 57 kg category at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Mariani was inducted into the International Judo Hall of Fame. In the 2010s he entered the political arena, and was elected to the Italian Parliament from the Movimento 5 Stelle party in March 2018.