Viva Pietri, the magnificent loser

A hundred years ago this summer, the hero of the first London Olympic Games was a gallant loser. How very British, you might say. Only this loser wasn’t British but Italian, and it is Italy that will be celebrating his memory.

An 8ft statue of him will be unveiled in his home town of Modena in May and a Mass held in his honour in the cathedral. He will be featured on postage stamps, books will be published, exhibitions and festivals staged. It is extraordinary; Italy, whose football team once had to go into hiding when beaten by North Korea, is celebrating a loser.

Actually it's not quite like that, for Dorando Pietri was an unusual loser - in a way, not really a loser at all. He