Zeno Colò

{{Infobox alpine ski racer

|name = Zeno Colò

|image = Zeno Colò.jpg

|image_size = 200

|caption =

|country =

|disciplines = Downhill, giant slalom, slalom, combined

|birth_date = {{birth date|1920|6|30|df=y}}

|birth_place = Abetone, Tuscany, Italy

|death_date = {{death date and age|1993|5|12|1920|6|30|df=y}}

|death_place = San Marcello Pistoiese,
Tuscany, Italy

|height =

|weight =

|wcdebut =

|retired = 1954 (age 33)

|website =

|olympicteams = 2 – (1948, 1952)

|olympicmedals = 1

|olympicgolds = 1

|worldsteams = 3 – (1948, 1950, 1952)
includes two Olympics

|worldsmedals = 4

|worldsgolds = 3

|wcseasons =

|wcwins =

|wcpodiums =

|wcoveralls =

|wctitles =

|show-medals = yes

|medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{ITA}} }}

}}

Zeno Colò (30 June 1920 – 12 May 1993) was a champion alpine ski racer from Italy. Born in Cutigliano, Tuscany, he was among the top ski racers of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Career

At the World Championships in 1950 in Aspen, he won gold medals in both downhill and giant slalom, and the silver in slalom.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DCpQAAAAIBAJ&pg=5214%2C2470572|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|agency=Associated Press|title=Italian wins Downhill title |date=19 February 1950 |page=13A }}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lZ8pAAAAIBAJ&pg=5195%2C5821818|newspaper=Spokesman-Review|agency=Associated Press |title=Italian wins Giant Slalom|date=15 February 1950|page=12}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8KVAAAAAIBAJ&pg=5604%2C1312678 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |title=World slalom title won by Swiss rider |date=17 February 1950 |page=4-part 2 }}{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uo1uuksRguMC&pg=PA106 |magazine=Skiing |title=A time to remember |last=Howe |first=Nicholas |date=January 1989 |pages=106–108}} Two years later, at the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, he won gold in the downhill,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s8pQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6781%2C1856076 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |agency=Associated Press |title=Yank skaters set pace in Olympics |last=Smits |first=Ted |date=17 February 1952 |page=12 }} and finished fourth in the giant slalom and slalom. Italy waited two decades for its next Olympic gold in alpine skiing, Gustav Thöni's win in giant slalom in 1972.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vXkhAAAAIBAJ&pg=4078%2C2524775 |newspaper=Schenectady Gazette |agency=Associated Press |last=Stevenson |first=Jack |title=Italian gold medals twenty years apart |date=11 February 1972 |page=28}}

Colò won the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen in 1948, and took the slalom title there in 1949 and 1950. Following his near-sweep at Aspen in 1950, he also won all three North American titles in downhill, slalom, and combined the following week in Canada at Mt Norquay near Banff, Alberta.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eylkAAAAIBAJ&pg=5622%2C4268378 |newspaper=Calgary Herald |last=Dunn |first=Nigel |title=Veteran Italian skier dominates North American championship meet |date=27 February 1950 |page=20}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qoJOAAAAIBAJ&pg=5637%2C2415021 |newspaper=Ludington Daily News |location=Michigan |agency=Associated Press |title=Sports briefs |date=27 February 1950 |page=6}} At the 1948 Olympics in St. Moritz, Colò finished 14th in the slalom, but did not finish in the downhill, which also eliminated him from the combined. He set a speed world record on skis in 1947, clocked at {{convert|98.7|mph|abbr=on}} on the Italian side of the Little Matterhorn.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fYBWAAAAIBAJ&pg=1956%2C7524343 |newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald |title=Girl skier hits speed of 70 m.p.h. at Kosciusko |date=2 August 1955 |page=1 }} which stood for 13 years.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HWgRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6950%2C1113282 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |agency=Associated Press |title=Skier clocks 98.9 mph |date=4 August 1960 |page=13 }}

After the 1952 Olympics, Colò linked his name to a line of ski clothing and, according to the regulations of the time, he was considered a professional. In 1954, he was disqualified by the Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) and was not allowed to participate in subsequent races, notably the 1954 World Championships in Åre, and he retired at age 33. The ban was lifted 35 years later in 1989.

Colò became a ski instructor in his native Abetone, helped develop the Pistoia ski resort, and promoted the Abetone Ski Company. In 1973, he designed three ski slopes that descend from the Gomito mountain, named Zeno 1, 2, and 3.

Colò died in 1993 from lung cancer at age 72 in San Marcello Pistoiese in Tuscany. The asteroid 58709 Zenocolò, discovered in 1998, was named in his honor.

World championship results

class=wikitable style="text-align:center" ! Year !! Age !! Slalom !! Giant Slalom !! Super-G !! Downhill !!Combined
1948	27	14	not run	rowspan=3\|not run	DNF	DNF DH
1950	29	style="background:silver;"\|2	style="background:gold;"\|1	style="background:gold;"\|1	rowspan=2\|not run
\| 1952	31	4	4	style="background:gold;"\|1