Mutual assistance in sports is a common thing. Clubmates and teammates help each other to achieve a common goal. But history also knows unique cases when principal rivals came to the rescue, sacrificing the most valuable thing — medals.
This was the bobsledder Eugenio Monti. The Italian, contrary to logic, at one Olympics twice literally saved rivals who were higher than him on the podium.
He came to bobsleigh after a terrible injury
In the life of Monty, in which there were several incredible twists of fate at once, you can make an action-packed film. Eugenio has been skiing since childhood and was considered an incredibly promising athlete. He won several national competitions and was preparing to conquer international tournaments when he fell badly in training.
The skier tore ligaments in both knees and spent months recovering. Having started training, the Italian quickly realized that the former speed would not return. He did not want to become an average athlete, so he gave up skiing.
Eugenio could not sit idle for a long time and took up bobsledding. In this sport, knee problems did not interfere with the realization of a dream — to become the best. Monty qualified for the 1956 Home Games, where he won silver medals in the twos and fours events. At the next Olympics, he was considered one of the favorites, but the bobsleigh was removed from the program due to the economic problems of the host country. A new chance had to wait eight years.
At the 1964 Olympics Eugenio's crew had a good time in the twos competition and was in the top three after the first run. The British were in the lead, having damaged the bean before the decisive attempt. They sheared a bolt on the rear axle.
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"The British did not win because of the bolt. They were the fastest,” Monty said after the award ceremony.
Eugenio could easily have stayed away, but his conscience and good nature did not allow him to do otherwise. This act was worth the silver medal that would have gone to the Italians after the removal of rivals. The most amazing thing is that Monty pulled off a similar trick in the competition of fours.Before the decisive race, the Canadian crew damaged the axle of the bob. The team could not bring mechanics with them, so there was only one way out — to withdraw. Then Monty persuaded his own technicians to repair the bean to the Canadians. Even the denouement of the story repeated the competition of twos. The crew, helped by the Italian, took the gold, while Eugenio was content with the bronze.
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“It was a gesture that every athlete is capable of,” insisted Monti.
Fate nevertheless rewarded Monty for good deeds. At the next Olympics, the 40-year-old Italian became the champion in both the twos competition and the fours tournament. After a double triumph, Eugenio ended his career as manager of the Italian national team. Unfortunately, Eugenio's story didn't get a happy ending. After achieving the main goal and winning Olympic gold medals, the life of the Italian began to crumble. First, his wife left him, with whom he raised two children. Soon the daughter moved to the USA, and the son died due to a drug overdose.Monty was left completely alone. In his old age, he suffered from depression, and at the age of 75 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The former athlete did not want to turn into a helpless old man and committed suicide.
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«Monty made other people feel like champions, but he himself was the real winner all this time», — said at the funeral the Italian bobsledder Luciano de Paolis, who performed in the same carriage with Eugenio.