Ondina Valla

Personal information
Full name	Trebisonda Valla
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1916-05-20)20 May 1916 Bologna, Kingdom of Italy
Died	16 October 2006(2006-10-16) (aged 90) L'Aquila, Italy
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Sprint Hurdling Long jump High jump
Club	SEF Virtus Bologna
Retired	1942
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	80 m hs: 11.6 (1940) 100 m: 12.5 (1935) High jump: 1.56 m (1936) Long jump: 5.39 m (1935)
Medal record Summer Olympics 1936 Berlin 80 metre hurdles International University Games 1933 Turin 80 meters hs 1933 Turin 100 metres 1933 Turin Long jump 1933 Turin 4x100 m relay

Trebisonda "Ondina" Valla (20 May 1916 – 16 October 2006) was an Italian female athlete, and the first Italian woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal. She won it in the 80 m hurdles event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, after establishing the new world record during the semi-final.

Biography

Born in Bologna, last after four brothers,^[1] she was named Trebisonda – a very unusual name for the country – after the Turkish town of Trabzon (Trebisonda in Italian), which her father considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. However, she was nicknamed Ondina, meaning "little wave".

Ondina Valla stood out for her personality and her sports talent even as a young girl. She rivalled with Claudia Testoni at the school championships in their hometown, and they would remain opponents for the rest of their careers. Aged 13, Ondina Valla was already considered one of Italy's top athletes. The following year she became national champion and was capped for the national team.^[2]

She was a versatile athlete, capable of excellent results in sprint events, hurdles races and jumps. She soon became a favorite with Italian sports fans. For the fascist government she was the ideal icon of the healthy, strong national youth. Media defined her "the sun in a smile".

Her most important achievement was the gold medal of 80 m hurdles race at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. On 5 August she won the semi-final in 11.6, a new world record. On the following day she ran the final. It was a tight race, with four athletes rushing together at the finish line. There were no doubts about Valla's victory, but a photofinish picture was needed to award the silver and bronze medals. Valla's lifelong rival, Claudia Testoni, finished fourth, without a medal. Valla and Testoni were also members of the Italian 4 × 100 m relay team which finished fourth.^[3]

The victory of Valla was important for the Fascist regime and the hostility of many leaders for the participation of women in athletic competitions started to decrease. Mussolini used the victory of the Italian athlete for propaganda, as a demonstration of the strength of the Italian race.^[4]

After those Olympic Games, Ondina Valla was forced to limit her competitions because of back problems. However, she still continued to compete until the early 1940s.

World record

• 80 metres hurdles: 11.6 ( Berlin, 5 August 1936)^[5]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Performance	Note
1936	Olympic Games	Berlin	1st	80 metres hurdles	11.7	=
			4th	4 × 100 m relay	48.7

National titles

Ondina Valla has won the Italian Athletics Championships (individual), 16 times in various specialties.^[6]

• 1 win in 60 metres (1932)
• 2 wins in 100 metres (1933, 1936)
• 6 wins in 80 metres hurdles (1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1937)
• 5 wins in high jump (1930, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1940)
• 1 win in standing high jump (1930)
• 1 win in pentathlon (1935)