Turu Rizzo

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Arturo (Turu) Rizzo (born March 13, 1894 in Sliema , Malta , † May 23, 1961 ) was a Maltese water polo player and open water swimmer .

life and career

In the course of his life, Rizzo set several endurance world records in treading water , i.e. swimming on the spot without aids. He set his first record in 1926 when he swam for 24 hours without a break. He was able to improve this world record three times, the last time in 1930 to 68 hours. The record lasted 50 years before it was surpassed in 1980 by Rizzo's grandson Albert Rizzo .

At the 1928 Summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam , Rizzo was part of the Maltese water polo team. The team lost 16-0 to France in the quarter-finals and ended up in fifth place.

In 1933, Rizzo tried to become the first person to swim from Sicily to Malta, but had to abandon the operation three miles from the destination due to bad weather, Malta was already in sight. The full 54-mile route was not mastered until 1985 by Rizzo's compatriot Nicky Farrugia .

Even in his later years, Rizzo remained loyal to endurance sports, for example, he went on a 28-hour hike that took him through all the cities of Malta without interruption.

Rizzo worked as a physical education teacher at the Malta Lyceum and is considered one of the Maltese pioneers in physiotherapy . A street is named after him in the Maltese city of Gzira . In 2004 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Malta Olympic Committee .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Turu Rizzo in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original ), accessed on March 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ a b The First ever Maltese to enter the Guinness Book of Records Article on independent.com.mt from December 21, 2004, accessed on March 2, 2015
  3. ↑ Rizzo's record-breaking feat 25 years ago Article on timesofmalta.com from September 25, 2005, accessed on March 2, 2015
  4. ↑ Swimming , Lakeland Ledger , July 29, 1985, p. 27 ( online )
personal data
SURNAME Rizzo, Turu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rizzo, Arthur; Rizzo Arturo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Maltese water polo player, endurance record holder
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Sliema , Malta
DATE OF DEATH May 23, 1961