List of Italians - Sportspeople

Sportspeople

• Giacomo Agostini (born 1942), motorcycle racer. He is considered the greatest Grand Prix rider of all time
• Alberto Ascari (1918–1955), automobile racing driver who was world champion driver in 1952 and 1953
• Roberto Baggio (born 1967), footballer.
• Mario Balotelli (born 1990), footballer. 2010 European Golden Boy and Euro 2012 co-leading scorer
• Franco Baresi (born 1960), footballer. One of the greatest defenders ever to play the game
• Andrea Bargnani (born 1985), basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association
• Gino Bartali (1914–2000), cyclist, won the Giro d'Italia twice (in 1936 and 1937) and the Tour de France in 1938
• Stefania Belmondo (born 1969), 10-time Olympic medalist in cross-country skiing
• Lorenzo Bernardi (born 1968), volleyball player. He was elected "Volleyball Player of the Century" in 2001
• Paolo Bettini (born 1974), road racing cyclist. Considered the best classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of the strongest of all times
• Gianluigi Buffon (born 1978), footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. One of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history
• Fabio Cannavaro (born 1973), footballer who plays as a centre back. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2006
• Primo Carnera (1906–1967), heavyweight boxing champion of the world
• Jury Chechi (born 1969), one of Italy's most famous gymnasts
• Pierluigi Collina (born 1960), football referee. He is regarded as the best referee of all time
• Deborah Compagnoni (born 1970), alpine skier who won three gold medals at the 1992, 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics
• Fausto Coppi (1919–1960), cyclist. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo, or champion of champions
• Umberto De Morpurgo (1896–1961), tennis player, highest world ranking # 8, Olympic bronze (singles)
• Alessandro Del Piero (born 1974), footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation
• Frankie Dettori (born 1970), probably the best-known jockey in the world
• Giuseppe Farina (1906–1966), racing driver. The first Formula One World Champion
• Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), race car driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team
• Christof Innerhofer (born 1984), alpine skier, won the men's Super-G at the world Alpine championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
• Paolo Maldini (born 1968), footballer who played as a centre back. One of the great defenders of all time
• Giuseppe Meazza (1910–1979), footballer. He is widely considered the best player of his generation, and one of the greatest of all time
• Dino Meneghin (born 1950), basketball player. He was considered the best player of his country
• Pietro Mennea (born 1952), sprinter and politician who was the 1980 Moscow Olympic 200 meter Champion, and also held the 200 m world record for 17 years
• Reinhold Messner (born 1944), mountaineer and explorer. The greatest climber in history
• Carlton Myers (born 1971), basketball player
• Alessandro Nesta (born 1976), footballer who plays as a defender. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game
• Tazio Nuvolari (1892–1953), motorcycle and racecar driver. Regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all times
• Marco Pantani (1970–2004), cyclist, won both the Tour de France, cycling's premier road race, and the Giro d'Italia in 1998
• Umberto Pelizzari (born 1965), freediver, widely considered among the best of all times
• Gianmarco Pozzecco (born 1972), basketball player, an all-around offensive talent. He won, for seven years, the ranking for the top assistmen in Italian League
• Costantino Rocca (born 1956), the most successful male golfer that Italy has produced
• Antonio Rossi (born 1968), sprint canoer who has competed since the early 1990s
• Paolo Rossi (born 1956), footballer. He is listed among Pelé's 125 all-time greatest footballers
• Valentino Rossi (born 1979), motorcycle racer. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time
• Sara Simeoni (born 1953), high jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics and twice set a world record in the women's high jump
• Alberto Tomba (born 1966), alpine ski racer. He was the dominant technical skier (slalom and giant slalom) in the late 1980s and 1990s
• Francesco Totti (born 1976), footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the finest players in his generation and also Roma's greatest player ever
• Trebisonda Valla (1916–2006), athlete. The first Italian woman to win an Olympic gold medal
• Christian Vieri (born 1973), footballer. Regarded as one of the finest strikers in Europe
• Alex Zanardi (born 1966), racing driver. He won two CART championship titles in North America during the late 1990s
• Dino Zoff (born 1942), football goalkeeper, among the very best in this role
• Gianfranco Zola (born 1966), footballer. He was voted Chelsea's greatest ever player in the centenary celebrations of 2005