Ugo Ceccarelli

Ugo Ceccarelli embarked on a military career early on, becoming a Lieutenant in the Bersaglieri. He displayed exceptional athletic aptitude, often coming out on top in regimental competitions, particularly in pistol shooting. Ceccarelli also engaged in the modern pentathlon, a discipline typically associated with the military. The sport was slow to grow in Italy, however, despite the military´s attempts at Olympic success. That changed in the early 1930s, however, when Gaspare Pasta, a 1924 Olympic modern pentathlete, was appointed head of the pentathlon sector. Pasta was experienced and capable of judging and training athletes, and selected the most capable and talented soldiers, including Ceccarelli, who was selected for the 1936 Olympics. He finished 15th overall in Berlin, in a competition that saw team-mate Silvano Abba win bronze.

Ceccarelli was a law student in Pisa and volunteered for the Spanish Civil War as the commander of a machine gun company. He distinguished himself repeatedly between March 1937 and August 1938, earning three Bronze Medals, including one from the Battle of Santander. Ceccarelli was wounded in the hand during a battle in Catalonia but, after treatment, remained at his post, and later received an award for his actions. At the outbreak of World War II, Ceccarelli returned to active service but lost his life aboard a plane during a military mission in Africa on 26 August 1940. The University of Pisa remembered him with an honorary degree.