Franco Menichelli

Franco Menichelli was an Italian gymnast. He competed in all artistic gymnastics events at the 1960, 1964, and 1968 Olympics and won one gold, one silver, and three bronze
medals.

Biography

Menichelli was most successful in 1964, when he won a gold on the floor, a silver on rings, and a bronze on parallel bars. He severely injured an Achilles tendon on landing during the floor exercise at the 1968 Olympics, and retired shortly thereafter. From 1973 to 1979 he coached the national gymnastics team. In 2003 he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Menichelli died on 28 January 2026, at the age of 84. His brother Giampaolo Menichelli was an international football player.

Awards

On 7 May 2015, in the presence of the President of Italian [National Olympic Committee], Giovanni Malagò, he was he was entered into in the Olympic Park of the Foro Italico in Rome, along Viale delle Olimpiadi, the Walk of Fame of Italian sport, consisting of 100 tiles that chronologically report names of the most representative athletes in the history of Italian sport. On each tile are the names of the sportsmen, the sport in which he distinguished himself and the symbol of CONI. One of these tiles is now dedicated to Franco Menichelli.