Marcello De Dorigo

Marcello De Dorigo was the first prominent Italian cross-country skier, achieved in part due to his exceptional bradycardia, with a heart rate of only 26 beats per minute. He joined the national team in 1957 where he also won the Kurikkala Cup in Le Brassus. He took part at the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics and in 1963, his best year, won pre-Olympic races at Seefeld in the 15 km. He also competed at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics but was not able to repeat that success. He was a six-time Italian Champion, winning the 15 km in 1960 and 1962, the 30 km in 1963, and with the relay in 1960 and 1962-63.

De Dorigo’s career was ended in the autumn of 1964 by an unfortunate incident. Training in Volodalen, Sweden, he got lost in a birch forest, and had to spend the night in the forest. Continuing to ski, to avoid freezing to death, he developed frostbite on his feet and had six toes amputated.