in 1983, in cassino, he clocked a manual 14.8 seconds in 150 metres, a world best time that he held until it was bettered by usain bolt in manchester in 2009. mennea, known in italy as the ("arrow of the south", from the connecting sicily to milan), then announced his retirement, allowing himself more time for his studies. however, he came back from retirement soon and won a bronze medal in the 200 m at the inaugural world championships in helsinki. a year later, he competed in his fourth consecutive olympic 200 m final, becoming the first person to do so. the defending champion finished in seventh, and retired from athletics for a second time afterwards. again, mennea made a comeback, and competed in his fifth olympics in seoul, where he was the flag bearer, but did not make it through the heats of the 200 m.