6th August 2013 09:12
It is almost five months since the death of Mennea, at the age of just 60, but his memory lives on and will carry on doing so on the day dedicated to his name, when special activities will be held in eight cities across Italy.
That date has been chosen because it marks when he achieved his finest success, breaking the 200m world record with his run of 19.72 in Mexico City in 1979.
It was a time that became a benchmark that the world had to follow, and it was not until 1996 that the mark was broken when American Michael Johnson ran 19.66 at the Olympic trials in Atlanta.
At the Games themselves a few weeks later he took the time down to 19.32 before Jamaican Usain Bolt lowered it at the Olympics in Beijing to 19.30 and then at the World Championships in 2009 in Berlin to 19.19.
But Mennea's time had been untouchable for so long and his versatility as an athlete was never at its greatest than in Moscow when he also won bronze in the 4 x 400m relay, running the last leg.
In 1983, at the first World Championships in Helsinki, he won bronze in the 200m and silver in the 4 x 100m relay.
Pietro Mennea Day will be a series of competitive events and promotional activities in provincial capitals of Italy and will be dedicated to the 200m.
They will take place in Barletta, Formia, Genoa, Grosseto, Milan, Rieti, Rome and Turin under the slogan of a day to live 'athletics together'.
There will be exhibitions, conferences, awards, and gatherings dedicated to speed, the essence of what Mennea was all about.
Registration proceeds will be donated to an initiative that combines athletics and solidarity named after Mennea and those involved will be given a certificate with the words 'I was there'.
Mennea died in Rome on March 21.