VERONA, Italy — Mario Gargiulo has returned to the Olympics 70 years after his first visit, this time not as an athlete but as the Games’ oldest volunteer.
At 89, Gargiulo, nicknamed the “King of the Volunteers,” will take the stage during Sunday’s closing ceremony in Verona, having been among the first of 18,000 volunteers to sign up. “To be part of it is incredible,” he told The Associated Press hours before the ceremony. “It’s beyond imagination.”
Gargiulo first traveled north from his hometown of Naples for the 1956 Cortina Winter Games at age 20. The experience left a lasting impression: he marveled at the flags and athletes from around the world, noting that “sport is a common tie for everybody.” He even returned to Cortina for his honeymoon after marrying an American woman.
A widowed father of three and grandfather of seven, Gargiulo has led a remarkable life. He later served 27 years in the U.S. Army, using his language skills in postings across the United States, Korea, Vietnam, Germany, and Russia, before retiring in 1994 as a lieutenant colonel.
Now, decades later, Gargiulo stands as a living bridge between Olympic generations, embodying the enduring spirit of the Games.
