1959 Universiade, Turin: Athletics gold in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m. 1963 Universiade, Porto Alegre: Bronze in the 100m and 200m. 1967 Universiade, Tokyo: Gold in the 4 x100m

The Vialle delle Olimpiad – the Walk of Fame of Italian sport – in Rome’s Olympic Park honours 100 athletes in the nation’s sporting history, each of whom has their name on a tile along with the sport in which they have distinguished themselves.

On May 7, 2015, in the presence of the President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), a tile bearing the name of Livio Berruti was formally added to the illustrious collection.

Berruti’s performance at the neighbouring Olympic Stadium at the 1960 Games was one of the home highlights as he surprised the watching world by winning the men’s 200 metres gold and twice equalling the world record of 20.5 seconds on the same day.

A year before his breakthrough home performance at the Games, Berruti – a chemistry undergraduate in Turin – had earned three golds at the first FISU-organised Summer Universiade, which was hosted by his native city.

He took the 100m title in 10.5, the 200m title in 20.9 and was part of the team that won the 4x100m gold in 41.0.

The following year, wearing his trademark dark glasses and white socks, Berruti announced his talent with a world record in the semi-finals, reproducing the time in the final later that day to take the Olympic title.

Berruti ran at two more Universiades, adding 100 and 200m bronze medals at the 1963 edition in Porto Alegre before collecting another 4x100m relay gold at the 1967 edition in Tokyo.

He had finished fifth in the Olympic 200m final in Tokyo three years earlier, and he made a third Olympic appearance a year later in Mexico City, reaching the 200m quarter-finals and being part of the 4x100m relay team that finished seventh.