To give an idea of the still current monstrosity of that world record, it is enough to remember that at the Diamond League finals three days ago the Canadian Andre De Grasse, former Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo over the distance, finished second in the 200 meters. At the same time, the unforgettable 19″72, created 42 years ago, on September 12, 1979, by Pietro Mennea in Mexico City, on the occasion of the Universiade. Who obviously won, then confirmed the following year with gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. But the Apulian sprinter entered the legend above all for those four figures: 1972. A time unthinkable for the time, only partially facilitated by the altitude and which stood as the world record in the 200m dash for 17 years: it was only bettered by the American Michael Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with 19 seconds, who in turn remained WR for 32 years (surpassed by a certainly Usain Bolt) and which is still a national record, as well as the time of the Freccia del Sud is still the European record.
Today the world record of the 200m is held by the Jamaican Bolt, with a time however not monstrously inferior to that achieved by a white athlete several decades earlier: 19 "19, at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Mennea achieved a legendary feat, still celebrated and remembered today, and which takes on further value later the exploit of the blue speed at the last Games in Japan, where Italy won gold in the 100m with Marcell Jacobs (Italian and European record with 9″80) and gold in the 4×100m relay with Jacobs again and Tortu, Desalu and Patta, with Italian record. Here, Mennea was in some way the forerunner of these triumphs and is fully the "godfather": he was the first very fast and successful Italian, whose footsteps were only retraced much later by Jacobs and his companions.
