Renato Petronio facts for kids
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| Born | 5 February 1891 Piran, Austro-Hungarian Empire |
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| Died | 9 April 1976 (aged 85) Portogruaro, Italy |
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| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | SN Pullino | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Renato Petronio (born February 5, 1891 – died April 9, 1976) was a famous Italian rower. He was a special kind of rower called a coxswain. He competed for Italy in two Olympic Games.
What is a Coxswain?
A coxswain is a very important person in a rowing boat. They don't row with oars. Instead, they steer the boat and tell the rowers what to do. They help the crew row together perfectly. The coxswain's job is to guide the boat and make sure the team goes as fast as possible.
Olympic Achievements
Renato Petronio competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam. He was the coxswain for the Italian team in the coxed four event. This means there were four rowers and one coxswain in the boat. His team did an amazing job and won the gold medal! It was a huge victory for Italy.
Eight years later, Renato Petronio went to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He was again the coxswain for the Italian coxed four boat. This time, his team did not win a medal. They were eliminated in a round called the repechage. A repechage is like a second chance race for teams that didn't do well enough in their first race.
European Championships Success
Besides the Olympics, Renato Petronio also had great success in the European Rowing Championships. He won several medals there as a coxswain for the coxed four team.
- In 1929, he won a gold medal in Bydgoszcz.
- In 1930, he won a silver medal in Liège.
- He then won three more gold medals in a row! These were in Belgrade (1932), Budapest (1933), and Lucerne (1934).
These wins show that Renato Petronio was a very skilled and successful coxswain. He helped his teams achieve many victories in rowing.
