Athletic Achievers

What do Yogi Berra, Joe Garagiola, Frank Crespi and Jim Pisoni have in common? The baseball legends have been immortalized on a mural in Cuggiono, Italy! All four were born between 1918 to 1929 on “The Hill,” the legendary Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis, to parents who had emigrated from western Lombardy, where Cuggiono is located. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of residents of Cuggiono and nearby towns such as Inveruno, Malvaglio, Buscate and Arconate immigrated to the United States, with St. Louis being one of their primary destinations. The idea to honor the four baseball stars …

  An award-winning rower in high school, John Salvi overcame brain cancer and returned to his sport, stronger than ever. Rower John Salvi won nationals as a high school senior and came in 5th place at the U-19 World Championships last year. Impressive in their own right, Salvi’s accomplishments are even more significant in light of the fact that he battled brain cancer while in high school. He’s been in remission since October 2022. “The sport is massively physically intense and mentally exhausting, which makes success in the sport that much more fulfilling,” says the 19-year-old, now a sophomore studying …

Growing up watching old kung-fu martial arts movies, Thomas Glielmi started teaching himself how to do flips from trees, fences and garages. “I liked the adrenaline rush,” the 59-year-old recalls. That drive led Glielmi to join a men’s gymnastics team in high school, which set him on a course to forge an uber-successful career as a gymnastics coach over the last two decades. As head coach for Stanford University men’s gymnastics since 2002, Glielmi guided his athletes to clinch seven NCAA championships, including the last five. As head coach for the U.S. men’s gymnastics team, Glielmi helped lead Team USA …

Though he missed going to the 2024 Olympics by a fraction of a second, the progress Vincent Ciattei has made point toward a promising future in middle-distance running. After years of grueling training and long-harbored dreams, falling just short of making the U.S. Olympic team can deal a devastating blow to any athlete. While it certainly was a blow for Vincent Ciattei, it also spelled a qualitative leap in performance that has opened the door to exciting new opportunities for his track-and-field career. The 29-year-old suburban Baltimore native finished fourth in the 1,500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials in …

A standout collegiate softball pitcher, Christina Toniolo took her game to an unimagined level after she was recruited by the manager of Team Italy. In early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, softball pitcher Christina Toniolo had a feeling she needed to pick up a phone call whose ID said “Italy,” even though as a rule she ignored unknown calls. That decision changed her life. Toniolo, who will be 23 this month, is a member of Italy’s national women’s softball team. Though she graduated last year with a degree in biology from the University of Illinois Chicago, she chose …

Crediting pool with saving him during a dark period in his life, Eric Naretto has risen through the ranks of the sport through a combination of fascination and dedication. 2023 was the best year as an amateur competitive pool player for Eric Naretto, who credits the sport with helping him develop into the person he is today. Naretto, 35, of Pontiac, Illinois, placed third in Skill Level 7, the highest level in 8-Ball Classic at the 2023 American Poolplayers Association national championship, and he was the runner-up in 9-Ball at the 2023 Midwest Billiards and Cue Expo championship. The accomplishments …

A veteran sportscaster at the age of 34, Maria Marino is forever broadening her skills and expanding her horizons in the profession. Multimedia on-air personality Maria Marino has a clear philosophy: Take advantage of any opportunity for growth. “I want to keep pushing boundaries,” the 34-year-old New Jersey native says. “It can be a hard path, but I think it’s rewarding when you keep challenging yourself and putting yourself in situations where you’re going to learn and grow.” For the past year, Marino has worked for the sports media company Action Network, where she hosts the Monday-through-Friday podcast “Green Dot …

A specialist in the hardest stroke in swimming, Ann Carozza was a champion in and out of the pool during her college career. After shining as an NCAA Division II star swimmer, Ann Carozza this month will attend the NCAA Convention as one of the Top 30 semifinalists for the Woman of the Year Award. The 23-year-old graduated in May from West Chester University with a major in special education and a minor in autism education, and now works as a learning support teacher at Bayard Rustin High School in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She also is a volunteer assistant swim …

A champion equestrian who has been riding pretty much her entire life, Giavanna Rinaldi has achieved success by getting to know her horses on the ground as well as in the saddle. From her first pony ride as a toddler, equestrian show jumper Giavanna Rinaldi always knew there was nowhere else she’d rather be than on a horse. Born and raised in Wayne, Illinois, Rinaldi’s passion ignited when she became enchanted by pony rides at a nearby stable. “I thought I was on top of the world sitting on the ponies, walking around in circles,” the 24-year-old recalls. “I couldn’t …

A longtime leisure cyclist, Giulia Baroncini took her passion to the next level this summer by biking from her hometown in Italy to the Windy City. After cycling nearly 2,500 miles in two months to repeat a feat accomplished 130 years ago, Giulia Baroncini says she learned a great deal about the people and places she visited — and about herself. The 33-year-old native of Polesine, in the region of Veneto, followed a trail blazed by Luigi Masetti, who is considered the father of cycling tourism. After having cycled across Europe, Masetti accomplished the so-called “Viaggissimo” (the Great Trip) in …