The tribute series to Bud Spencer continues on Rai 3, on the anniversary of his death on 27 June 2016, it’s the turn of Bigfoot the African. With Terence Hill, born Mario Girotti, his companion in adventures in western films and American detective films, theThe actor chose an American stage name whose origin he explained thus: “Spencer, because they loved Spencer Tracy and Bud because I drank Budweiser beer”. But “Piedone” was very Italian, Neapolitan, born in 1929, and as an Italian, wearing a blue cap, he had become famous in his first life, with the baptismal name Carlo Pedersoli: water polo champion with Italy at the Mediterranean Games in 1955 and above all first Italian in 1950 to swim the 100 freestyle under one minutea specialty in which he also participated twice in the Olympic Games in 1952 and 1956.
And since the “walls”, the round numbers, count in swimming and athletics, his Italian record has remained in history, even if with a little mystery: «On 18 September 1950», certifies the Federnuoto, «in the Leoni swimming pool in Salsomaggiore Terme, Carlo Pedersoli broke the one-minute barrier in the 100 freestyle. No Italian had ever succeeded. The man who would later be known as Bud Spencer, an actor loved by adults and children everywhere, swam 59.7 without official judges. Time, therefore, without the criteria that would allow validation and which you will not find in the rankings. THENews of the feat immediately reached the federation which allowed the race to be repeated the following day with official timekeepers and judges and Pedersoli covered the distance in 59.5, officially improving the previous record established by Celio Brunelleschi on 30 April 1948 in one minute flat. Pedersoli improved that record twice, also breaking the 59-second mark in 58″9 and 58″2 on 21 June 1952; he ended his career with the unofficial personal best of 57″7″.
Yet few in the years to come would have been able to match the large, corpulent, bearded man who, with a cathartic effect, stood out in the cinema with memorable fistfights, in which he used one to beat another by causing the pumpkins of the unfortunate opponents to collide, with the angelic athletic swimmer capable of marking that notch in the history of blue swimmingthanks to the much changed physicality and obviously the adoption of the stage name to distinguish the two lives.
A coincidence has it that his, in this sense, was a parallel life with that of his dual colleague Johnny Weissmuller, born in 1904, American swimmer and water polo player, before going down in history as an actor in the role of the famous Tarzanbut before that he had been one of the most awarded swimmers in history, winner of 6 Olympic medals including 5 gold, 52 American national titles and capable of setting 67 world records in his career, as well as, and here is the parallel, first man in the world to run under one minute in the 100 meter freestyle, on 9 July 1922.
In memory of Bud Spencer on the tenth anniversary of his death on 27 June 2026 the Carlo Pedersoli Award was established, the first edition went to Manuel Bortuzzoa swimmer who is now a Paralympic swimmer following a gunshot that reached him in the street due to mistaken identity.
«This award» declared Giuseppe Pedersoli, son of Bud Spencer, «was created to celebrate the values that accompanied my father throughout his life: respect, fairness, courage and determination. In Manuel Bortuzzo we have recognized these values, inside and outside the water. His ability to react to difficulties and transform them into a new sporting and human challenge makes him an extraordinary example for young people. Furthermore, his journey in the Fiamme Oro, like that of my father, makes this recognition even more significant. This is the first edition of the Carlo Pedersoli Award and our hope is that it can become a long-lasting event, capable of rewarding many young athletes over the years who embody the same values of fair play and humanity that my father has always represented.”
