Background
Attempting to join little athletics his father was told that Moneghetti was not wanted.
Attempting to join little athletics his father was told that Moneghetti was not wanted.
He started out as a 10,000 metre runner and finished fifth in that event at the 1986 Commonwealth Games.
Moneghetti has a degree in civil engineering, a graduate diploma in education and an honorary doctorate from the University of Ballarat. He is a personal development consultant with the Ministry of Education and chair of the Victorian Review into Physical and Sport Education in Schools. Moneghetti was not considered to be a good runner in primary school.
By high school (Street Patrick"s College, Ballarat), however, he had developed into an excellent endurance athlete and was well on his way to becoming one of Australia"s greatest marathon runners.
He ran his first marathon at the same meet winning the bronze medal. His first marathon victory was in Berlin in 1990 in the time of 2:08:16, coming only a couple of weeks after winning the Great North Run in 1:00:34.
In 1991 he set the course record of 40:03 for Sydney"s iconic 14 km City 2 Surf, which still stands. He came 3rd in the 1997 World Championships marathon race.
He has also competed in the marathon at four Olympic Games.
2000 in Sydney, 1996 in Atlanta, 1992 in Barcelona and 1988 in Seoul. His best performance in the Olympics was 5th place at Seoul in 1988. Moneghetti"s last race representing Australia was the Sydney 2000 Olympic Marathon.
After meeting trouble in the middle of the race he recovered to finish 10th.
In the interview after the race, he thanked Australia for its support during his long career. Moneghetti continued to race for fun in other events in Australia such as the City to Surf and Sydney and Melbourne Marathons on an infrequent basis.
In 2014, he competed in the Oceania Masters Athletics Cross Country Championships hosted in Bendigo. He lit the cauldron in his hometown of Ballarat to celebrate the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
In 2010 he was named as the Australian team"s chef de mission for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
Moneghetti"s heritage can be traced to Swiss Italians of Australia. Moneghetti appears in a feature film titled Reverse Runner. The film is a sporting comedy which also features a cameo from Bruce McAvaney.