Golden Soft Sombrero Moment with Steve Monaghetti

Four Diegos Profile:               

Australia’s Legendary Marathon Runner

Diegos Verdict:                       

With a name like Monaghetti it’s been little wonder that the Italians tried to poach him for their national soccer team.

They got under our guard when they whisked Christian Vieri away from a promising Australian cricket career so there was no way the Diegos were going to let the same thing happen with ‘Mona’.

Some Golden Soft Sombrero Moments with Steve Monaghetti

Mona on preparation Greek style…

Diegos: “Congratulations on your third place in the World Championships in Greece in August. 

We know that the Greeks love to run with Athens being the birthplace of the marathon but the Diegos also know that they like to prepare their runners in unusual ways.

Did anyone throw you a souvlaki from the side of the road rather than a banana or ouzo rather than a Gatorade?”

Monaghetti: “No I tried to avoid those on the drink stations, I went straight for the drinks instead.

There were a few elderly ladies throwing flowers and leaves out on to the course though, apparently to signify good luck.

By the end it was as though I was running under trees.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1996

Mona on running nude…

Diegos: “The Greeks like to stick to tradition and hold on to how things were done in the first ever marathon.

Did they ever approach you to run nude?”

Monaghetti: “I trailed nude but they said it wasn’t a good look so they actually sponsored me to wear clothes.

They said it was better for the event and better for television.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1996

Mona on his ‘pumped up’ look…

Diegos: “The Diegos marveled at your cameo performance on ‘The Footy Show’ in Melbourne after you came back from Athens.

We are wondering however whether you are looking forward to a few beers and a decent counter meal at the Bunch of Grapes Hotel in your home town of Ballarat because you look like you could go a good feed or two?”

Monaghetti: “I have been sitting by the phone waiting for some big modeling offers. I can’t understand why I’m not getting them.

Funnily enough I didn’t think I was that skinny until I saw myself on the show. I thought, ‘give that bloke a feed’ and then I realized that that bloke was me.”

Diegos: “A muscle head question just to impress the boys at the Four Diegos gymnasium…how much can you bench press?”

Monaghetti: “Actually I normally don’t try and put any weight on the bar. I don’t know what a bar weighs but not very much I don’t think.

I think my best is about 50kg’s which is not quite my weight but I reckon that’s not that bad anyway for a skinny little fellow.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1996

Mona on marathon trash talk…

Diegos: “We know you like your AFL footy.

We have seen how Diegos’ AFL favourite Tony Liberatore this season has put his opponents off with some close checking tactics and a little bit of trash talk.

Do you ever get the dirty tactics going in the marathon, with the Mexican runner coming up to you saying, ‘hey Mona its too hot you’re not gonna make it, you’re a dud mate’?”

Monaghetti: “That’s probably what they are saying but my Mexican is not very good.

I just say thanks very much.

Believe it or not there’s not that much talk going on in the marathon. What you do say is very short and to the point because you don’t want to be wasting too many breathes. You are going to need all the energy you’ve got.

There is a little bit of dirty play and the drink stations are renowned as a great spot for that.

It has been said that the African nations are particularly dodgy in this regard.

Even if they are from a country like Zimbabwe which starts with ‘Z’’ on the last table they would notoriously put their arm out for a drink on the first table and clear out a few bottles along the way.

It’s pretty hard to pick your bottle up if it is in the gutter.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1996

Mona on ‘feeling he has to go’…

Diegos: “For the marathon you’ve obviously had to carbohydrate load beforehand with the pastas, rice and breads.

We know what that sort of diet does to the Diegos’ digestive system.

How about you? Have you ever felt compelled to go to the toilet during a race?”

Monaghetti: “That’s a commonly asked question and believe it or not the answer is never.

There is a marathon running mate of mine from England who five kilometers into the race had to stop for ‘number twos’ would you believe.

He still finished about 16^th so he came home pretty well in the end.”

Diegos: “He was a bit lighter Mona…

Monaghetti: “Yes he came home with a rush so to speak.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1996

Mona on Barcelona…

Diegos: “The Diegos want to take you back to a nightmare marathon …

Monaghetti: “There’s only one…

Diegos: “That’s right, the Barcelona Olympics.

The Diegos know it was hot and we know you did it hard but we ran every step of the way with you. We couldn’t understand why you ran out of steam because we felt pretty good by the end.

At the end of it someone shoved a microphone in your face and you talked of retirement.

How do you feel now?”

Monaghetti: “I think there’s talk of retirement at the end of every marathon, its just part of the event.

Unfortunately it is a very tough event on your body.

When the going gets tough through the race you keeping saying to yourself that I’m never going to do this again but that feeling usually wears off and you front up again.

Obviously that was the low point but I think it has been quite important.

The successes I’ve had since in the Commonwealth games and the World Championships were no doubt because of the disappointments and lessons I learnt there.

It was 29 degrees and 48% humidity at the start of the event in Athens this year and Barcelona was only 26 degrees.

So it wasn’t so much the hot weather, it was a couple of other things we did wrong that we haven’t done since.

So I learnt my lesson.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1996

Mona what’s the best?

Diegos: “You’ve been to three Olympic games.

What’s the best athletic performance you’ve seen in an Olympics and what would you rate as your best performance?”

Monaghetti: “I would think Greg Louganis hitting the board with his head in the diving in 1988 and still getting up and winning the competition. That’s definitely one of the great all time performances.

My best performance will probably mean absolutely nothing to many people, but I hold the record for running Lake Wendoree in Ballarat in 16 minutes and 10 seconds.

I remember finishing that race and saying well I don’t have to run another lap of the lake because I know that that is as quick as I could ever run. It just went perfectly on the day.”

Soft Sombrero Moment 1996