Bruno Pauletto

Bruno Pauletto
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Canada
Commonwealth Games
1982 Brisbane Shot put
1978 Edmonton Shot put
Pan American Games
1979 San Juan Shot put

Bruno Pauletto (born 21 January 1954) is a Canadian former track and field athlete who competed in the shot put. An Italian-born athlete, he represented Canada internationally. His greatest honour was the shot put gold medal at the 1982 Commonwealth Games. Pauletto also won a Commonwealth silver in 1978 and a bronze medal at the 1979 Pan American Games.

A three-time Canadian national champion, he had a lifetime best of 20.61 m (67 ft 7 1⁄4 in). He represented Canada at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics. After his career as an athlete he became a strength coach and then, with his wife, founded a sports and fitness accessories business called Power Systems, Inc.

Career

Born in Portogruaro, Italy,[1][2] he went to study at Central Michigan University in the late 1970s and competed in the shot put collegiately for their team, the Central Michigan Chippewas. While there he came fifth at the 1977 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, won the American collegiate title at the 1978 NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship, before finally taking the runner-up spot at the NCAA Outdoors in 1978. He had much success in the Mid-American Conference, winning the indoor and outdoor titles from 1976 to 1978 and setting a conference record of 19.89 m (65 ft 3 in). He also won the 1977 conference title in the discus throw. He was inducted into the university's hall of fame in 1990.[3][4]

Internationally, Pauletto competed for Canada, after taking Canadian citizenship. At his first major competitions for his adoptive country, he placed fifth at the 1977 IAAF World Cup and was runner-up at the 1977 Pacific Conference Games, behind American Colin Anderson.[5][6] The following year he won his first national title at the Canadian Track and Field Championships. He went on to win two further national titles in 1980 and 1983 – the former win coming in a championship record of 20.33 m (66 ft 8 1⁄4 in), which stood until 2001. Between 1976 and 1983, only he and Bishop Dolegiewicz won the honour, with the pair dominating the national scene.[7]

His first medal at a major games came in 1978 at the Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On home turf, he took the silver medal behind England's Geoff Capes with a throw of 19.33 m (63 ft 5 in), and national rival Dolegiewicz completed the podium in third. He gave a better performance at the 1979 Pan American Games, clearing 19.61 m (64 ft 4 in), but on that occasion his placing with Dolegiewicz was reversed, as Pauletto claimed the bronze while American Dave Laut won with a throw beyond twenty metres. Another podium finish came for Pauletto at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, where he improved one place to claim the gold medal with a mark of 19.55 m (64 ft 1 1⁄2 in) ahead of the English champion Mike Winch. This made him the third Canadian to win the shot put at the Commonwealth Games after Dave Steen and women's champion Jane Haist.[8][9]

His last year of high-level competition was in 1983. He gave the best performance of his career in May, throwing a lifetime best mark of 20.61 m (67 ft 7 1⁄4 in) at a meeting in Knoxville, Tennessee. After winning his third and final Canadian title, he was selected for the 1983 World Championships in Athletics. At the inaugural edition of the global event, he ranked 17th in qualifying in the European-dominated discipline.[10]

Pauletto took the job of Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Tennessee in 1981 and continued to serve in the role after he stopped competing, up until 1993. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Strength and Conditioning Association in the United States in 2008 for his services to the discipline.[2] In 1986, he and his wife, Julie Pauletto, started Power Systems, Inc – a company for sports performance and fitness accessory products. The business proved a success, growing from a home-based operation to a major seller of such products in the region by 2011, with a 200,000 square foot facility in Tennessee.[11]

Personal bests

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
1977 IAAF World Cup Düsseldorf, West Germany 5th 18.30 m
Pacific Conference Games Canberra, Australia 2nd 18.43 m
1978 Commonwealth Games Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2nd 19.33 m
1979 Pan American Games San Juan, Puerto Rico 3rd 19.61 m
1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia 1st 19.55 m
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 17th (heats) 18.32 m

National titles

References

  1. ↑ LISTE ITALIANE ALL TIME. FIDAL (2014-08-06). Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  2. 1 2 Former strength coach receives NSCA Award. UT Sports (2008-07-31). Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  3. ↑ Bruno Pauletto. Chippewas. Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  4. ↑ NCAA Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  5. ↑ I World Cup, Düsseldorf 1977. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  6. ↑ Pacific Conference Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  7. ↑ Canadian Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  8. ↑ Commonwealth Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  9. ↑ Pan American Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  10. ↑ Bruno Pauletto. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-04-02.
  11. ↑ Power Systems’ President Pauletto Celebrates 25 Years Of Service. CoachAD (2011-03-09). Retrieved on 2015-04-02.

External links

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