Arturo Maffei

{{short description|Italian long jumper and footballer (1909-2006)}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| headercolor =

| name =

| nickname =

| fullname =

| image = Arturo Maffei 1930s.jpg

| imagesize =

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| nationality = Italian

| sport = Athletics

| event = Long jump

| club = Giglio Rosso Florence

| collegeteam =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1909|11|9}}

| birth_place = Viareggio, Italy

| residence =

| coach=

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2006|8|17|1909|11|9}}

| death_place= Torre del Lago, Italy

| height = {{height|m=1.76}}

| weight = {{convert|64|kg|lb|abbr=on}}

| pb =

Long jump: 7.73 m (1936)

| country = {{flagicon|ITA}} Italy

| medaltemplates=

}}

Arturo Maffei (9 November 1909, in Viareggio – 17 August 2006, in Torre del Lago) was an Italian long jumper and footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.

Biography

He was the Italian long jump champion in 1930, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1940. His eight national championships tied with Attilio Bravi for the most of all time. He competed in 87 local and regional competitions between 1938 and 1951, collecting 66 wins, 16 second places, 3 third places and 2 non-podium finishes. He competed in 43 international competitions between 1930 and 1941, collecting 27 wins, 9 second places, 2 third places, and 5 non-podium finishes.

Maffei finished second behind Hannes de Boer in the long jump event at the 1931 AAA Championships,{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003214/19310704/264/0013 |title=Athletics records may be smashed today |work=Daily News (London) |date=4 July 1931 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=10 January 2025 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000681/19310706/286/0014 |title=Few AAA titles go abroad |work=Daily Herald |date=6 July 1931 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=10 January 2025 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=10 January 2025 }} and placed first in that competition in 1938. He placed fifth at the 1934 European Championships in Torino, with a mark of 7.12 meters. He won a silver medal in the 1938 Championships in Paris, with a mark of 7.61 meters, although an unofficial winning mark of 7.78 meters was supposedly not counted due to a judge's mistake.[http://www.pierogiacomelli.com/redazione/speciali/speciale_209.pdf Arturo Maffei], Spiridon Italia {{in lang|it}} He tied for fourth in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, with a mark of 7.73 meters.

He first set the Italian long jump record on 19 May 1936 during Olympic trials with a distance of 7.42 meters, beating Virgilio Tommasi's 1929 mark of 7.41 meters. He broke his own mark on 29 June 1936 during the Italian Championships, with a mark of 7.50 meters. He broke his own national record again on 4 August 1936, with his Olympic mark of 7.73 meters. This mark stood as the Italian record until 17 August 1968, when Giuseppe Gentile set a mark of 7.91 meters.

Maffei won the British AAA Championships title in the long jump event at the 1938 AAA Championships.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19380716/152/0005 |title=Italian wins six-mile title |work=Western Mail |date=16 July 1938 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=19 January 2025 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000669/19380718/127/0004 |title=AAA Championships |work=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=18 July 1938 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=19 January 2025 }}

He played for ACF Fiorentina from 1926 until 1931, and joined the team's coaching staff from 1941 until 1956 as an athletic and goalkeeping coach under manager Fulvio Bernardini.{{cite web|url=http://www.ilnumero1.it/intervista-a-sarti-yashin-e-buffon-sono-i-piu-grandi-della-storia/|title=Intervista a Sarti: "Yashin e Buffon sono i più grandi della storia"|publisher=ilnumero1.it|language=Italian|date=29 December 2013|accessdate=6 June 2017}}

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Measure	Notes
class="wikitable" width=60% style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
1934 \| align=left\|European Championships \| align=left\|{{flagicon\|ITA\|1861}} Turin \| 5th \| Long jump \| 7.12 m \|
1936 \| align=left\|Olympic Games \| align=left\|{{flagicon\|GER\|Nazi}} Berlin \| 4th \| Long jump \| 7.73 m \| {{AthAbbr\|NR}}
rowspan=2\|1938 \| align=left\|AAA Championships \| align=left\|{{flagicon\|GBR}} London \| bgcolor=gold\|1st \| Long jump \| 7.52 m \| {{cite web\|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/bc2.htm\|title=BRITISH ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 1919-1939\|publisher=gbrathletics.com\|accessdate=18 August 2017}}
align=left\|European Championships \| align=left\|{{flagicon\|FRA}} Paris \| bgcolor=silver\|2nd \| Long jump \| 7.61 m \|