The Olympic Dictionary F

FAGGIN LEANDRO (cycling, Italy, b. Padua 18/7/1933, d. Padua 6/12/1970). One Olympic appearance (1956) and 2 gold medals (1 km standing start and team pursuit). He arrived in Melbourne with bronchitis, and risked being replaced in the pursuit team: in fact he led the team to the gold medal, beating France in the final. His team mates: Valentino Gasparella (q.v.), Antonio Domenicali (q.v.) and Franco Gandini (q.v.), plus Virgilio Pizzali in the heats. Two days later he won the 1 km standing start: he completed the first lap in 25.3, ended the second at 46.7 and finished in 1:09.8, just 6 tenths above his world record (set 3 months earlier at the Vigorelli velodrome, with one corner less) and 1.6 less than Czech Foucek. He had tears in his eyes when the Duke of Edinburgh congratulated him, and he also received the compliments of the Australian Mockridge, who had won the same race four years earlier and, present at Melbourne as a journalist, had forecast Faggin’s victory in an article in his paper. In 1954, Faggin had been Italian and world champion in pursuit, and Italian champion in the kilometre; in 1955 he came third in the World Championships, and then second in 1956. After having become a professional, he won 3 World Championship gold medals for pursuit (1963-65-66), plus 3 silver and 3 bronze medals, and 12 consecutive Italian titles (from 1957 to 1968), as well as one in the omnium. He set world records for the km (1:09.2) and the 5 km (6:15.4) as an amateur, and for the 5 km (6:06.4, then 6:02.4) as a professional. He also won 9 “Six Day” events. He died of cancer at the age of just 37.

FAMILIES The Hungarian Gyarmati family is the most successful family in the history of the Olympics. Dezsö Gyarmati (q.v.) won 3 gold medals, one silver and one bronze in water polo from 1948 to 1964; his wife Eva Székely, swimmer, won a gold and a silver in 1952 and 1956; their daughter Andrea won one silver and one bronze in 1972 for , backstroke and butterfly; she married Mihaly Hesz, who won one gold and one silver in 1964 and 1968 in canoeing. Also remarkable was the Norwegian Lunde family: Eugen began with a gold medal for sailing in 1924; his son Peder Eugen, wife Vibeke and her brother Börre Falkum-Hansen won a silver, also for sailing, in 1952. Lastly, Peder jr, Eugen’s grandson, won a gold medal in the Flying Dutchman class in 1960, and silver in the 1968 Star class: he married Aud Hvammen, who took part in two Alpine skiing events at the 1964 and 1968 Games.

FASTER HIGHER STRONGER See Olympic motto.

FENCING Is one of the five sports that has always been included in the programme of all modern Olympics. Fencing is regulated by FIE (Fédération Internationale d’Escrime – www.fie.ch). Cf. Sports, Section IV.

FERGUSON IAN GORDON (canoeing, New Zealand, b. Taumarunui 20/7/1952). Five appearances (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992), 4 gold medals (K1 500 m 1984, K2 500 m 1984 and 1988, K4 1000 m 984) and one silver (K2 1000 1988). 1984 3-0-0, 1988 1-1-0. After two Olympiads without any medals (in 1980 he reached the final in the K1 500 m and K1 1000 m, but finished 7th and 8th respectively), he retired for two years: he sold and repaired videogame machines. He returned to competition when the New Zealand Federation offered him financial support. After a World Championships silver medal in 1983, he won 3 gold medals at Los Angeles, a gold and a silver at Seoul, and he reached the K2 1000 m final in Barcelona, at the age of 40, finishing 8th. In the World Championships, he won 2 gold medals (K2 500 m in 1985, K2 1000 m in

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1987, with Paul MacDonald) and 3 silvers. He was also a great surfer: he won 4 titles in the Ironman, 4 in the “surf ski race” and 4 gold medals at the 1991 World Master Championships. His son Steve took part in the 2000 Olympics in swimming, and in the 2004 Games in canoeing: in the latter sport, he attained a 4th place in the 1000 m K2 in the 2003 World Championships, with Ben Fouhy, who, also trained by Ian Ferguson, won the gold medal in the K1 1000 m.

FERNANDEZ LISA (softball, USA, b. New York City, New York, 22/2/1971). Three appearances (1996, 2000, 2004) and 3 gold medals (1996, 2000, 2004). 1996 1-0-0, 2000 1-0-0, 2004 1-0-0. Cuban father, Puerto Rican mother. She began playing at the age of 8. She was 12 when a coach told her that, given her build, she could not be a pitcher: but it was in that position that she became one of the best players ever. In 1996 she came close to the “perfect game” (never seen at the Olympics) conceding just a home run to the Australian Joanne Brown at the last pitch of the 10th innings; she then achieved 7, of which 5 consecutive, in the tour before the 2000 Games, and in she set a record of 25 strikeouts against in the preliminary league. This did not prevent the USA from losing their third match in a row, following those against Japan and , but Japan, China and Australia were then beaten as the USA progressed towards their second consecutive gold medal, and in Athens, 2004, they won their third. Fernandez also won 4 World Championship gold medals (1990-94-98-2002), and 2 college titles with UCLA (1990-92). Elected best American player for three years running, in 1991-92-93, in 1993 she also won the best all sports college athlete prize: the first time that a softball player won the award.

FIEDLER JENS (cycling, Germany, b. Dohna, former , 15/2/1970). Four appearances (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004), 3 gold medals (individual time-trial 1992 and 1996, team time-trial 4000 m 2004) and 2 bronze medals (individual time-trial and Keirin 2000). 1992 1-0-0, 1996 1-0-0, 2000 0-0-2, 2004 1-0-0. World Champion in 1991, he won his first Olympic gold medal the following year in Barcelona, beating Neiwand by 5 centimetres in the first sprint of the final, and benefiting from the disqualification of the Australian who beat him in the second final. Though in the following years he never did better than 4th place in the World Championships, at Atlanta in the semi-finals he once again beat Neiwand, and then in the final (again in 2 sprints, winning the first by just a centimetre) he beat the American Nothstein; these two cyclists had won the World Championship gold in 1993 and 1994 respectively. In Sydney he was unable to complete a hat-trick, because he was defeated by Nothstein in the semi-final, but he won his third gold in Athens, where the team time-trial was held for the first time at the Games. In World Championship competitions, he won 5 golds (individual time-trial 1991, team time-trial 1995-2003, Keirin 1998- 99), 5 silver and 3 bronze medals. He was found positive in a doping test (amphetamines) in one of his last races before retiring, in Manchester, 2005: “A tragedy, an absurdity, due to pharmacological treatment. I have been tested at least 200 times over the course of my career, and I have never been found positive”.

FIELD HOCKEY The federation that regulates it is the FIH (Fédération Internationale de Hockey, www.fihockey.org). It first appeared as an Olympic sport in London, 1908 and was disputed in 1920, even though up until 1928 it was not always included in the programme of the Games. Women’s field hockey was first included in the 1980 Olympiad. Cf. Sports, section IV.

FIELDS JOHN “JACKIE” (boxing, USA, b. Chicago, Illinois, 9/2/1908, d. Los Angeles, California, 3/6/1987). One appearance (1924) and one gold medal (featherweight >57,15 kg). Born as Jacob Finkelstein in Chicago’s Jewish ghetto (“And there you had to know how to fight”), he began boxing at the age of 14, in Los Angeles, where his family had moved when his father contracted tuberculosis, and he changed his surname for the ring (there are three versions: he took his new name from a Chicago shop, or from another boxer, or from his coach). At Antwerp he became the youngest boxer ever to win an Olympic gold medal, at 16 years and 162 days, beating

65 The Olympic Dictionary his friend Joseph Salas, two years older than him, in the final. Salas told what happened just before the match. “We got ready in the same changing room. When they knocked to call us onto the ring, we embraced and started to cry. Ten minutes later, we were knocking the hell out of each other in the ring”. In March 1929 Fields became NBA welterweight world champion beating Young Jack Thompson on points in ten rounds. A month later he was given the unified title because Joe Dundee’s title was declared as having expired, and in July Field confirmed the title by beating Dundee himself (disqualified, 2). The next year he lost the title against Thompson (points, 15) and won it back in 1932 against Lou Brouillard (points, 10). In that year he suffered a detached retina in a car accident, losing sight in one eye, but he did not tell anyone; and in 1933 he lost the title against Young Corbett III on points in 10 rounds. After the match the referee, Jack Kennedy, told Fields’ manager Jack Kearns that he had raised the wrong hand at the moment of announcing the verdict: Kearns knocked him out right there in the changing rooms with a punch in the mouth. Fields ended his career with 74 victories 31 KOs), 9 defeats, 2 draws and one “no contest”. He died in 1987, just 8 days before his friend Salas.

FIGURE SKATING see Ice Skating.

FIJI (Republic of the Fiji Islands, Oceania, capital Suva, area 18.272 km2, population 838.699). The Olympic Committee was formed in 1949, and it received IOC recognition in 1955. It took part in the Olympics for the first time in 1956, then missing the 1964 and 1980 editions. It has not won any medals. Best place: 10th in windsurfing by Anthony Philip in 1992 and 2000.

FILMS See CINEMA.

FINDLAY “CONN” FRANCIS (rowing/sailing, USA, b. Stockton, California, 24/4/1930). Four appearances (1956, 1960 and 1964 for rowing, 1976 sailing), 2 gold medals (coxed pair 1956 and 1964) and 2 bronze medals (coxed pair 1960, Tempest class 1976). 1956 1-0-0, 1960 0-0-1, 1964 1- 0-0, 1976 0-0-1. After having won three medals for rowing, with three different crews, in 1974 he took part in the selections for the America’s Cup, on Mariner, with Dennis Conner. Their boat was not chosen, but Conner took him with him to the Games, two years later, where he won a bronze medal in sailing. In 1977 Findlay reached his America’s Cup ambitions, as he was part of the crew of Courageous that successfully defended the Cup against the Australians.

FINLAND (Republic of Finland, Europe, capital Helsinki, area 338.145 km2, population 5.276.895). 298 medals: 101 gold, 83 silver and 114 bronze. Best Olympics: Paris 1924, 14 gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze medals. Best sport: track & field, with 49 gold, 35 silver and 30 bronze medals. Most decorated athlete: Paavo Nurmi, track & field, with 9 gold medals (10.000 m in 1920 and 1928, 8 km individual and team cross country in 1920, 1500 m in 1924, 5000 m in 1924, 10 km individual and team cross country in 1924, team 3000 m in 1924) and 3 silver medals (5000 metres in 1920 and 1928, 3000 steeplechase 1928). The Olympic Committee was formed in 1907 and it received IOC recognition in the same year. It took part in the 1906 Intermediate Games, and from 1908 it has missed no editions. It hosted the 1952 Olympiad in Helsinki, city to which the 1940 edition was also assigned (in substitution of Tokyo), cancelled due to the Second World War.

FIORAVANTI DOMENICO (swimming, Italy, b. Trecate, Novara, 31/5/1977). One appearance (2000) and 2 gold medals (100 and 200 breaststroke). The first Italian to win an Olympic gold medal for swimming. He succeeded in the only edition of the Games in which he took part, Sydney 2000: in the 100 breast stroke he won in 1:00.46, ahead of the Russian and the American , while in the 200 he came first in 2:10.87 ahead of South African Terence Parkin and his fellow countryman Davide Rummolo. His career came to an abrupt end in 2003, when a medical check revealed a cardiac hypertrophy that ruled out competition. After having thus

66 The Olympic Dictionary been forced to retire, he became a sports commentator and a testimonial for the Italian Swimming Federation. As well as his Olympic gold medals, during his career he won another 8 medals: in the World Championships, 2 silver (100 breast stroke 2001, 100 short course breast stroke 1999) and one bronze (50 breast stroke 2001); in the European Championships, 3 gold medals (100 breast stroke 1999 and 2000, 50 short course breaststroke 2000, 100 short course breaststroke 2000) and 2 silver medals (200 breast stroke 2000, 200 short course breast stroke 2000).

FISHER MORRIS “BUD” (shooting, USA, b. Youngstown, Ohio, 4/5/1890, d. Honolulu, Hawaii, 23/5/1968). Two appearances (1920, 1924) and 5 gold medals (individual free rifle 300 m 3 positions 1920, team free rifle 300 m 3 positions 1920, team prone military rifle 300 m 1920, free prone rifle 600 m 1924, team free rifle 400-600-800 m 1924). 1920 3-0-0, 1924 2-0-0. He was a marine who played the violin to relax, but on the day of the individual free rifle competition, in Antwerp, he was too nervous, and was unable to shoot the first standing shot (the other positions were prone, and kneeling, or sitting, which he preferred). After 20 minutes the American coach ordered him to fire whatever, even should he miss the target altogether: he fired, scored some points, and regained his composure. He also won 6 World Championship gold medals, and he set 5 world records up until 1941, when he left the Marines with the rank of sergeant. He was recalled a few months later after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. During the Second World War, he was an instructor, but unfortunately he lost his only son, William, in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa.

FLANAGAN JOHN JESUS (track & field, USA, b. Kilbreedy, Ireland, 9/1/1873, d. Kilmallack, Ireland, 4/6/1938). Three appearances (1900, 1904, 1908), 3 gold medals (hammer throw 1900, 1904 and 1908) and one silver (56 lb weight throw, 1904). 1900 1-0-0, 1904 1-1-0, 1908 1-0-0. He emigrated to the United States in 1896, when he was already world record holder and had won two British titles in the hammer throw (he had also won 2 second places in the high and long jumps in the 1895 Irish championships). He had some difficulties changing from the 9 foot (2.74 metre) regulation circle to the 7 foot (2.13) pattern, but then he won his first Olympic gold, in 1900, competing for the USA even though he was still an Irish citizen. In 1903 he became a New York policeman, at the Bureau of Licenses: here he had little to do, and a lot of time for training. In 1904 he repeated his success in the hammer throw, and was beaten by another policeman, Canadian Desmarteau, in the 56 lb weight throw, and he came 4th in the discus. In 1908 he won his third consecutive gold at the last throw (51.92, ahead of the 51.18 achieved by another American, McGrath, ex world record holder). He left New York in 1911 when he was given a new job (he would have been put on patrol duty in Central Park) and returned to Ireland: he had also won 7 American titles in the hammer throw and 6 in the 56 lb weight throw. He set 19 world records, which are not included in the official listings because the IAAF did not yet exist: it was founded in 1912, three years after Flanagan’s last record, 56.18, which made him, at the age of 46 years and 196 days, the oldest record holder of a track & field event.

FONST SEGUNDO RAMÓN (fencing, Cuba, b. Havana 31/8/1883, d. Havana 10/9/1959). Three appearances (1900, 1904, 1924), 4 gold medals (individual épée 1900 and 1904, individual and team foil 1904) and one silver (foil, amateur/professional open, 1900). 1900 1-1-0, 1904 3-0-0. After having been initiated into fencing by his father Filiberto, he moved to Paris as a boy, and at the age of just 11 he won the French foil championship. He was just 16 when he won his first Olympic gold, also in Paris, and came second in the open competition, behind his master Ayat (who lost not a single assault in the entire competition, and received a prize of 3.000 francs). In 1904 he became the first person – and the only person up until today – to repeat the gold in épée that he had won four years earlier; he won golds in foil and épée, a feat equalled only by Frenchman Gaudin in 1928; and he won the gold medal in team foil with a Cuba-USA mixed team, including American Van Zo Post. In 1924, at the age of 40, he took part in the Paris Games, almost reaching the épée final: he was knocked out only in the tie-break in the semi-final round. At the Central American

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Games in 1926, in Mexico, he won foil, épée and sabre; he won both foil and épée in 1930 in Havana, at the age of 47; and he won in team épée in 1938 in Panama, when he was 55. He also competed in pistol shooting (winning 44 medals in various competitions), boxing and cycling.

FONTANELLA EMILIO (rowing, Italy, b. 12/7/1881, d. ?). One Olympic appearance, Athens 1906, 3 gold medals (coxed pair 1000 m and coxed pair mile, coxed four). A crew member for the Bucintoro di Venezia which won a total of three gold medals at the Intermediate Games in Athens. The year before, at the European Championships in Ghent, he had won a silver in the coxed four, behind Belgium, rowing at number three with Ercole Olgeni, stroke, Scipione del Giudice and Antonio Finotti, cox Giorgio Cesana.

FOOTBALL See headings: Soccer, American Football and Australian Rules Football.

FOREMAN GEORGE (boxing, USA, b. Marshall, Texas, 10/1/1949). One Olympic appearance (1968) and one gold medal (heavyweight >81 kg). He took part at the Games after just 20-odd games as an amateur. In the first round he defeated the Pole Trela on points, then he won the gold medal with 3 consecutive KOs, against Romanian Alexe, Italian Bambini and, in the final (TKO 2), Lithuanian Chepulis. In 1973 he became WBA-WBC heavyweight world champion, inflicting Joe Frazier’s (q.v.) first defeat (TKO in the 2nd round, announced by the famous words “Down goes Frazier!” repeated three times by commentator Howard Cosell). He lost the title the year after against Muhammad Ali (q.v.), with a TKO in the 8th round in the fight in Kinshasa, named “Rumble in the Jungle”, subject of a book (The fight by Norman Mailer) and a film (When we where kings, Oscar for best documentary in 1997). He did not fight between 1978 and 1986, lost his 1991 WBC- WBA-IBF title challenge against Evander Holyfield (on points, 12) but he won the WBA-IBF title in 1994 beating Michael Moorer (KO 10) to become, at the age of 45, the oldest heavyweight champion in history. The WBA later stripped him of his title because he refused to fight Tony Tucker, and the IBF did the same for having refused a rematch with Axel Schulz, whom he had beaten (on points, 12) in 1995. His record: 76 victories (68 KOs) and 5 defeats, the last in 1997 against Shannon Briggs, the last match of his career, at the age of 48. However he made more money (as he himself declared) advertising a grill than in boxing: over 100 million were sold, earning him 150 million for himself. He called all his 5 sons George.

FOSBURY RICHARD DOUGLAS “DICK” (track & field, USA, b. Portland, Oregon, 6/3/1947). One Olympic appearance (1968) and one gold medal (high jump). His sports career is associated with the technique with which he revolutionised the high jump, the head-first, back-downwards style which, within a few years, had completely replaced the Straddle technique. “When I was at secondary school, I was jumping with the old ‘scissors’ technique, and couldn’t jump any higher than 1.62. In order to lower my centre of gravity when I was over the top of the bar, I thought that I could try jumping it with my head facing upwards. This would mean having to make fewer movements close to the bar, which is cleared with the body in a horizontal rather than vertical position, therefore reducing the probability of touching the bar. On my first attempt in an official contest, in 1963, I jumped 1.78. I reckoned that I had struck gold”. In later years he perfected the technique, with which he won a national university title and the Trials for the 1968 Mexico City Games. At the Olympics he started the contest at 2.03 and by 2.22 he was alone with his team mate Edward Caruthers and the Soviet Valentin Gavrilov, who both failed at 2.24, a height that Fosbury jumped on his third attempt. He won the gold medal, tried for the world record but did not succeed. The technique that he introduced, more effective from a bio-mechanical point of view, rapidly spread worldwide, and in the following months, many American schools prohibited pupils from trying the Fosbury flop to avoid injuries to their neck and back. Fosbury was unable to continue competing at those levels. He felt fulfilled with his gold medal, and retired at the age of just 23 to become a civil engineer.

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FRANCE (Republic of France, Europe, capital Paris, area 543.965 km2, population 61.438.592). 645 medals: 201 gold, 208 silver and 236 bronze. Best Olympics: Paris 1900, with 28 gold, 43 silver and 38 bronze medals. Best sport: fencing, with 42 gold, 39 silver and 35 bronze medals. Most decorated athlete: Christian d’Oriola, fencing, 4 gold medals (team foil 1948 and 1952, individual foil 1952 and 1956) and 2 silvers (individual foil 1948, team foil 1956); Lucien Gaudin, fencing, 4 gold medals (team foil 1924, team épée 1924, individual foil 1928, individual épée 1928) and 2 silvers (team foil 1920 and 1928). The Olympic Committee was formed in 1894 and received IOC recognition the same year. It is one of 5 countries to have taken part at all Olympics. France has hosted the Games twice, in Paris in 1900 and 1924. Unsuccessful candidate cities: Lyon (twice) and Lille (once). Pierre Frédy, Barone de Coubertin, who revived the modern Games, was French.

FRASER DAWN (swimming, Australia, b. Balmain 4/9/1937). Three appearances (1956, 1960, 1964), 4 gold medals (100 freestyle 1956, 1960 and 1964, 4x100 freestyle relay 1956) and 4 silvers (400 freestyle 1956, 4x100 freestyle relay 1960 and 1964, 4x100 medley relay 1960). 1956 2-1-0, 1960 1-2-0, 1964 1-1-0. The youngest of the eight children born to a Scottish carpenter who had emigrated to Australia, she began swimming at the age of 4, even though she had asthma, and began training for competition at 8, with her lifetime coach Harry Gallagher. Blessed with an imposing physique (as well as a particularly slow heartbeat), she turned professional when she was just 14, and to improve her condition, she trained very hard, making a great impression on those who saw her. She made her mark in 1955, winning the first of her 29 national titles: 7 in the 100 freestyle, 8 in the 200 freestyle, 5 in the 400 freestyle, 2 in the 100 butterfly, one in the 200 medley, 4 in the 4x100 freestyle and 2 in the 4x100 medley. She made her Olympic debut at home, in Melbourne, 1956, winning the first of her 3 consecutive Olympic golds in the 100 freestyle in 1:02.0, in an all- Australian podium, with and , and the gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay (4:17.1, world record, with Faith Leech, and Lorraine Crapp), also winning a silver medal in the 400 freestyle (5:02.5) behind Crapp. The world record for the relay was one of the 28 records (16 individual and 12 team) that Fraser set in her career. She was also the first woman to break the one minute barrier for the 100 freestyle (59.9 on 27 October 1962 in Melbourne). At the 1960 Rome Games, as well as her victory in the 100 freestyle (1:01.2), she won 2 silver medals in the 4x100 freestyle and 4x100 medley relays. The 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, the last of her career, was the most difficult: before the Games, she was involved in a car crash in which her mother was killed; she had to wear an orthopaedic collar for weeks, but managed to get back to fitness in time and win the 100 freestyle (59.5). The day after, she thought she had a free day and went shopping in Tokyo, forgetting the 4x100 freestyle relay heat; her team mates managed to get through the heat, and came second in the final (4:06.9, behind the United States) in which Fraser took part, but they refused to talk to her. A few months later she wrote a book, Below the surface, with journalist Harry Gordon, in which she lifted the lid on life in the Olympic Village, alleging that athletes were more concerned with sex, beer and cigarettes than the competitions. She herself admitted: “I’m a heavy smoker: 20-30 cigarettes a day since I was 19”. The scandal resulted in a 10-year disqualification by the Australian Swimming Union, and an end to her career at the age of 27. As well as her Olympic medals, she won 7 gold medals and a silver at the . After retirement, she married, had a daughter, divorced, and was elected to the parliament, where she is involved in ecology and children’s issues.

FRAZIER JOSEPH WILLIAM “JOE” (boxing, USA, b. Beaufort, South Carolina, 12/1/1944). One Olympic appearance (1964) and one gold (heavyweight >81 kg). In the Trials he was beaten by Mathis, who then broke his thumb and so left him his place in the team for the Tokyo Games. Frazier broke his own left thumb in the semi-final in Tokyo, but nonetheless beat the German Huber in the final on a split decision (3 judges to 2). In 1970 he became WBA-WBC world champion beating Jimmy Ellis (TKO in round 5). After having successfully defended the title 4 times (amongst others against Muhammad Ali (q.v). in 1971, won on points in 15 rounds: the first defeat

69 The Olympic Dictionary of Ali’s career), he lost it to George Foreman (q.v.) in 1973 (TKO, round 2), and lost his 1975 “Thriller in Manila” rematch against Ali (TKO, round 14), who had already beaten him on points in 12 rounds in 1974. His record: 32 victories (27 KO), 4 defeats and a draw, the latter in his only fight in 1981, having retired in 1976 following another defeat (TKO 5) by Foreman. “Fighting Frazier is the closest I have ever come to experiencing death. If God called me for a Holy War, I would like to have Joe at my side” (Muhammad Ali). All three of his children became professional boxers. Marvis (born in 1960) won 19 of his 21 fights, but he is usually remembered for his 2 defeats, both by KO at the first round, against Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson (with his father Joe in the corner). Joe jr. (1962) had a record of 23 victories, 7 defeats and 4 draws. Jacqueline (1961) won 13 fights and a few titles issued by various boards, but her only defeat, in 2001 (on points in 8 rounds), was against Laila Ali, Muhammad’s daughter. She was therefore unable to take revenge for her father’s defeat.

FREDRIKSSON GERT (canoeing, Sweden, b. Nyköping 21/11/1919, d. Nyköping 5/7/2006). Four Olympic appearances (1948, 1952, 1956, 1960), 6 gold medals (K1 1000 1948, 1952 and 1956, K2 1000 1960, K1 10.000 1948 and 1956), one silver (K1 10.000 1952) and one bronze (K1 1000 1960). 1948 2-0-0, 1952 1-1-0, 1956 2-0-0, 1960 1-0-1. Her 30 and-a-half second win from Finn Wires in the 1948 10.000 metres is the biggest in the history of Olympic canoeing. As well as this record in the longest race, which was dropped from the Olympic programme after her second gold in 1956, another record was the 6.7 lead with which she won the 1000 metres in 1948, ahead of Dane Kobberup: she was so much better than her opponents that in the heat, when she was only 4th at the 950 mark, she won with a sprint in the last 50 m. In 1964 she could have taken part in her 5th Olympiad, at the age of almost 45, but she decided to participate as coach alone. In the World Championships she obtained 7 gold medals (K1 500 in 1948-54, K1 4x500 in 1948-50-54, K1 1000 in 1950-54), 2 silvers and 2 bronzes, and 71 victories in the Swedish championships.

FRIGERIO UGO (track & field, Italy, b. Milan 16/9/1901, d. Garda, Verona, 7/7/1968). Three appearances (1920, 1924, 1932), 3 gold medals (3 km 1920, 10 km 1920 and 1924) and one bronze (50 km 1932). 1920 2-0-0, 1924 1-0-0, 1932 0-0-1. Ex-print shop apprentice at the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, he was Italy’s first gold-winning track & field athlete. He developed a passion for the champions of his day while typesetting the pages, and as he didn’t have enough money to buy a racing bicycle, he decided to compete in the walk. He trained in Parco Sempione with two great champions of the time, both from Milan, Fernando Altimani, bronze in the 10 km walk at the Stockholm Games, and Donato Pavesi, who won the 100 km walk organized by the Gazzetta six times. He joined the Unione Sportiva Milanese. In 1918 he won one of the first “Popolarissime” events organized by the Gazzetta, and in 1919 he won the Giro di Milan, an event included in the Italian championships. By the end of his career he had won another seven Italian titles: 5 in the 10 km (1920-21-23-24-31), one in the 3 km (1921) and one in the one-hour walk (1920). In 1920 he was selected for the Antwerp Games: he won the heat for the 10 km in 47:06.4; in the final he started slowly, in the mid-race he was in the first ten, and after Pavesi was disqualified, he was in the lead with American Joseph Pearman. Frigerio attacked repeatedly, until the American fell back, and Frigerio won the gold medal in 48:06.2, 250 metres ahead of Pearman. Four days later he also won gold in the 3 km: he was so sure that he would win that before the race, he gave the bandleader the score for a song that he wanted to hear during the race, and during the final, that he won in 13:14.2 ahead of Australian George Parker and American Richard Remer, he waved his arms like an orchestra conductor every time that he passed the stand. Four years later in Paris, the 3 km walk was no longer an Olympic event, but Frigerio won the 10 km in 47:49.0 ahead of British Gordon Goodwin. When the IOC decided to abolish the walk for the 1928 Amsterdam Games, Frigerio retired, but returned to competition in 1931 to prepare the 50 km walk for the 1932 Los Angeles Games. In America his task was supposed to be that of pacesetter for his younger team mates, but they all withdrew, and so he decided to carry on to the finish, where he ended third behind British

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Thomas Green and Lithuanian Janis Dalins. After the race he spent 15 days in bed with burnt feet. After his return from Los Angeles, he retired and set up a cheese-making company. After the Second World War he was nominated president of CONI for Northern Italy.

FU MINGXIA (, China, b. 16/8/1978). Three appearances (1992, 1996, 2000), 4 gold medals (platform 1992 and 1996, springboard 1996 and 2000) and one silver (synchronized springboard 2000). 1992 1-0-0, 1996 2-0-0, 2000 1-1-0. At the age of 9, she travelled a thousand kilometres from her home to train in Peking; 12 days before her twelfth birthday she won (1990) the gold medal at the Goodwill Games; at the age of 12 and a half (1991) she became the youngest female world champion for platform diving in history. In 1992 she won Olympic gold – at that time she was 1.52 m in height, and weighed just 44 kg – because of a change in rules: while previously athletes had to be at least 14 at the time of the competition, under the new rules it was enough to reach the age of 14 in the year of the Games. After one other World Championship gold (1994, platform) and the two gold medals at the 1996 Olympiad (when she was 5 cm taller and weighed 13 kg more) she retired to study Economics, but returned to competition and won her fourth gold in Sydney (“Even though the year before I had put on so much weight that I didn’t want to appear in a swimming costume…”), beating , who had beaten her five times in the pre-Olympic selections, in the last three dives, and equalling the diving records held by Pat McCormick (q.v.) and (q.v.).

FUCHS GOTTFRIED (football, Germany, b. Karlsruhe 3/5/1889, d. Montreal, Canada, 25/2/1972). One Olympic appearance (1912). He scored 14 goals in the 6 matches played with the German national team, of which 10 in the 16-0 win (and in the first 69 minutes) against in the Olympic consolation tournament, after Germany had been knocked out losing 5-1 against Austria (Fuchs did not play in that match). The German team finished only seventh, losing 3-1 with Hungary, but those 10 goals equalled the record set at the 1908 Games by Danish player Sophus Nielsen, and they remained an absolute record for international matches, up until when the Australian Archie Thompson scored 13 goals in 2001, in a 31-0 win over American Samoa for the World Cup qualifying round.

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