“He’s the nicest and fastest in the pool” – Bud Spencer as swimming champion
Levente Király’s newest, gripping book, Legendás Slaps, was recently published, filled with new, more exciting behind-the-scenes stories you’ve never heard of about legendary Italian slapsticks, Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. One such story is about the period when Carlo Pedersoli, better known as Bud Spencer, was not successful on screen but in swimming pools.
Carlo also has special memories of the town of Gavirate, located in the Varese district, northwest of Milan, and in particular Lake Varese. Santo Cassani, a swimmer, was a close friend of Pedersoli and still has a very special memory with the Neapolitan actor. Carlo has twice been to Lake Varese to participate in a classic swimming competition from the 50s.
“We wrote in 1956 – Cassani said nostalgically – and they were selected to participate in two events at the Melbourne Olympics in Australia, the 100-meter backstroke and the 1,500-meter freestyle. I was studying in Milan at the time and taking part in training, but my family opposed me coming to Australia for five-a-side matches.”
That’s why Cassani didn’t participate in the Melbourne Olympics, while Carlo Pedersoli did, even if the end result wasn’t what he expected. A few years later, Cassani and Carlo’s paths met again on the shores of Lake Varese.
“I found myself at the Bodio-Schiranna race,” the former swimmer recalls. – This is my contest, which I have always won for many years. However, Carlo overtook me and I could barely run in second place behind him. Pedersoli has twice entered the Bodio – Schiranna race and won both times. At first I was a bit annoyed because the prize at the contest was fifteen thousand lire, and Carlo came from Naples to Lake Varese with the sole purpose of “stealing” the prize money (laughs).
Despite the rivalry, a good relationship developed between the two athletes, even if this turned out to be a superficial relationship over the years, as Carlo and Cassani’s acquaintance involved only two athletes. trip to Varese, this hasn’t happened in years
“I remember Carlo as a very nice person, which showed later in his films. We exchanged a few words, but then lost track of each other. I looked back at him with nostalgia and compassion. infinitely hidden.”
Despite the nearly seven-year age difference in Carlo’s favor, he easily won both races. Pedersoli was already the Italian swimming champion at the time. His former teammate, Fofò Buonocore, remembers him like this:
“Everywhere we went, she was the nicest and fastest in the pool. Napoli didn’t have an indoor pool at the time, so we moved north for winter training. Turin, Milan, Genoa… We started from Santa Lucia, he always had another car, like an eager child. In the northern cities, we share a room, train by day, party and dance by night.”
Fofò Buonocore is Canottieri’s ex-swimmer and accomplished water polo player, who has a particularly close friendship with Carlo Pedersoli.
“He’s a great talent, although he can’t stand the monotony of training, he’s still the best in the group. We’ve faced each other many times, we competed to see who was the better swimmer, and of course he often beat me.”
– recalls Buonocore, born 1933. Playing with Carlo was Geppino D’Altrui, 5 years younger than him, also born in Naples, was his teammate at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
“He’s a funny guy who knows how to love people. He’s always at the forefront, he loves to tell about his adventures in South America, where he spent part of his youth. He once shared with us that he crossed a river leaning on a hibernating snake. No one believed him, but we all enjoyed his words. He’s an attractive man. He never hits, he’s never rude, he’s the complete opposite of the character you see in the movies… Once we were in Genoa, in the square. Piazza de Ferrari, and we had to go to practice when Carlo showed up in a Buick.He liked to open and close the hood and observe the reactions of passers-by.Finally, he put us all in his car. he and we went to the swimming pool.”