Chechi dominated his specialty, the rings, during the nineties, so he was nicknamed "the Lord of the Rings"; however, he could not participate in the Barcelona 1992 and Sydney 2000 Olympic games due to serious injuries.

[2] Chechi was the Italian flagbearer at the opening ceremony in the Athens Games in 2004.

He also participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin.

Jury sparked some controversy at the 2004 Athens Olympic games when he shook the hand of silver medalist in the rings final, Yordan Yovchev and signaled that he should have won the gold medal, not Dimosthenis Tampakos (meaning that he won only because he was the local champion).

Initiative by President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.