Ugo Sansonetti
Encyclopedia
Ugo Sansonetti, nicknamed Matusalesto (born January 10, 1919), is an Italian writer and masters athlete. He is the current world record holder
Masters Athletics World Records
These are the current world records in the various age groups of Masters athletics. Starting at age 35, each age group starts on the athlete's birthday in years that are evenly divisible by 5 and extends until the next such occurrence. For record purposes, older athletes are not included in...

 in the M85 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...

 and M90 400 metres
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...

. He is famous throughout Italy for his appearance as a spry athlete in a Coca Cola advertisement. See the ad on youtube

Born in Rome, Italy, he was the son of Admiral Louis Sansonetti. As of 2011 he lives in Rome, has ten children, 25 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. He has a degree in law and was a pioneer cavalry officer. He is an honorary citizen of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

, where he led a company doing agricultural colonization in the fifties. Among his writings is curating Emigranti alla conquista della foresta (translated=Migrants to the conquest of the forest), which promotes that colonization of Costa Rica.

In the seventies he directed and helped to lift a European frozen foods manufacturer that would later become known as Findus.

In 1991 he was appointed Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...

 and in 2006 received the Star of Merit for his work.

First octogenarian in zero gravity

In 2005, at the age of 86 years, participated in project SpaceLand Sansonetti, a flight in a weightless environment on a Boeing 727 -200. Starting from Bordeaux, France, it was the first parabolic flight to accommodate ordinary citizens, and the first to bring on board an octogenarian.

Masters athletics

As an athlete, he claims to have won 70 medals, 42 of them gold. In addition to the outdoor world records, he holds several indoor world records in the M90 60 metres, M85 and M90 200 metres and M90 400 metres. He has won several World Masters Athletics Championships
World Masters Athletics Championships
The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biannual championships for athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes over the age of 35 years old....

. Here is a youtube video of him winning the 100 metres
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

 at the 2009 World Championships in Lahti, Finland.

Works

Author:
  • Coto Brus, là dove gli alberi sorreggevano il cielo (Coto Brus, where the trees holding up the sky), Scorpio, 2000. ISBN 9788880990918
  • Non fermarsi mai! Per conservare la giovinezza fino agli 80 anni e oltre (Never stop! To preserve his youth up to 80 years and older), Sports Society Press, 2003. ISBN 9788883130816
  • SMS. Messaggi alle nuove generazioni (SMS. Message to new generations), Florence, Florence MEF Books The Author, 2008. ISBN 9788851716653

Curator:
Introducing: Herzel G. Weizmann, Emigranti alla conquista della foresta (Migrants to the conquest of the forest). Promoted Italian colonization in Costa Rica: San Vito de Java, Franco Angeli, 1985. ISBN 9788820448486
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