Enrico Porro

Enrico Porro was an Italian wrestler who was somewhat of rebel and was brought up in 1800s Milano. His parents got him work as a ship’s boy sailing between Italy and South America, and when he got to Buenos Aires he met up with a cousin who was a printer and Porro worked with him. However, it did not last long and he returned to Italy where he worked as a mechanic. He also started working out at his first gymnasium in the Porta Ticinese district, before joining the better known Pro Italia Gymnastics in La Spezia.

Military service ruled out any chance of Porro going to the 1904 Olympics but, in 1905, he was the minimum weight (<70 kg) Italian Greco-Roman champion for the first time. He retained the title in 1906 and won it again in 1908 and 1909. He also won the 70 kg title at the 1906 European Championships in Milano.

At the time of the 1908 London Olympic Games, Porro was serving in the Italian Navy, and returned from the Games with the lightweight Greco-Roman gold medal. On his way back to his home in Italy, the train on which Porro was travelling passed through Spezia, and he was surprised to see the Navy band playing in the town square. He thought it was for a member of Royalty or some other notable person, but it was actually in Porro’s honour. When he returned to his destroyer Castelfidardo, he was greeted on board by the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, who presented a special gold medal to the Olympian.

An injured hand forced Porro to miss the 1912 Olympics. After World War I he finished second in the Inter-Allied Games at Joinville-le-Pont and was optimistic of success at the 1920 Antwerpen Olympics, but he failed to medal, as was also the case in Paris four years later.