Gino Sopracordevole

Born in Venezia in 1904, Gino Sopracordevole joined SC Querini as a cox when still a youngster, but never got the chance to compete in important races. However, that came at the end of 1922 when Antwerp Olympic gold medallists Ercole Olgeni and Giovanni Scatturin separated after a bad season. The latter, rather than retire, found a new partner in Giuseppe Tassan, and recruited the coxing skills of Sopracordevole to pursue further successes.

In 1923 Sopracordevole and SC Querini won the Italian coxed pairs title and represented Italy at the European Championships in Como, where they won the silver medal behind Switzerland. In 1924 they won the national title again but shortly afterwards, the 41-year-old Olgeni returned to the boat in place of Tassan, and the pair went to their second Olympics. In the final they were involved in a close battle with Switzerland who, after a lengthy wait while the judges deliberated, were awarded the gold medal by just 0.1 second with Italy second and the USA taking the bronze with France fourth. A couple of months later, at the Europeans in Zurich, Sopracordevole won a bronze medal after Italy finished third behind the Netherlands (absent at the Olympics) and Switzerland.

After 1924, with the retirement of Olgeni, and the departure of Scatturin to Argentina, Sopracordevole’s sporting career also ended. He competed for only two years at the top level of the sport which was in contrast to the long life he enjoyed away from sport, living until just a few days before his 90th birthday.