Italo Pedroncelli

Italo Pedroncelli was an Italian Alpine skier who made his international début at the 1956 Cortina Winter Olympics. In 1957 he won his first medal at the Italian Championships, finishing third in the downhill.

At Squaw Valley (Palisades Tahoe) in 1960 he placed 11th in the slalom, and in the same year was second in both technical races at the Internationale Adelbodner Skitage held on the legendary Chuenisbärgli slope in Adelboden. In 1961, again in Adelboden, he was third in the giant slalom. At the 3-Tre, the classic Madonna di Campiglio event, he finished second in giant slalom in 1962 and won the slalom a year later. Pedroncelli ended his sporting career in 1964 after his appearance at the Innsbruck Olympics. He never won a national title, winning two silver medals and six bronze.

After retiring Pedroncelli became the coach of the Italian national team, leading athletes such as Erwin Stricker and Stefano Anzi, and was largely responsible as head of materials for the success of the Valanga Azzurra (Blue Avalanche), the nickname of the strong Italian Alpine skiing team in the 1970s. In 2009 the Municipality of Madesimo named a ski slope in his honor.