Eseosa Desalu
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing  Italy | ||
| Military World Games | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2015 Mungyeong | 200 m |
Eseosa Fostine Desalu (born 19 February 1994) is an Italian track and field sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres. He was the gold medallist in that event at the 2015 Military World Games. He holds a best of 20.55 seconds for the distance, set in 2014.
Career
Born in Casalmaggiore, Italy to Nigerian parents, Desalu originally focused on association football in his youth. However, he began to take up track and field around 2008, initially focusing on the sprint hurdles. His speed was better than his technique and he eventually focused on the 200 m instead. He gained full Italian citizenship in 2012.[1] A member of Gruppi Sportivi Fiamme Gialle – the sports club of Italy's police force – he made his international debut at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics. However, he failed to progress beyond the heats.[2] He also ran with the 4×100 metres relay team, but they were also eliminated in the heats stage.[3]
Desalu's first international medal came at the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships, where he was a relay bronze medallist on hoe turf in Rieti, running the anchor leg on a team of Giacomo Isolano, Lorenzo Bilotti and Roberto Rigali. He also managed fifth place individually in the 200 m.[4] His first senior medal followed at the 2014 European Team Championships, where he was part of the bronze medal-winning relay quartet alongside Massimiliano Ferraro, Diego Marani, and Delmas Obou.[5] He was selected both individually and for the relay for Italy at the 2014 European Athletics Championships. He was a semi-finalist in the 200 m, having set a best of 20.55 seconds in the heats, and was a finalist in the relay with Fabio Cerutti, Marani and Obou (although the Italians failed to finish).[4]
Desalu had his first appearance at global senior level at the 2015 IAAF World Relays, though the regrouped European Championships team did not make it past the heats. At the 2015 Military World Games he won the 200 m gold medal, a tenth of a second ahead of runner-up Serhiy Smelyk.[6] He came close to a second medal at the games in the relay, placing fourth with Cerutti, Obou and Matteo Galvan.[7]
Personal bests
- 60 metres – 6.76 seconds (2015)
- 100 metres – 10.49 seconds (2014)
- 200 metres – 20.55 seconds (2014)
- 110 metres hurdles – 14.20 seconds (2010)
- 60 metres hurdles – 7.86 seconds (2011)
- All information from European Athletics[8]
International competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | World Junior Championships | Barcelona, Spain | — (heats) | 200 m | DQ |
| 5th (heats) | 4×100 m relay | 40.41 | |||
| 2013 | European Junior Championships | Rieti, Italy | 5th | 200 m | 21.16 |
| 3rd | 4×100 m relay | 40.00 | |||
| 2014 | European Team Championships | Braunschweig, Germany | 3rd | 4×100 m relay | 39.06 |
| European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 7th (semis) | 200 m | 20.73 | |
| — | 4×100 m relay | DNF | |||
| 2015 | IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 3rd (heats) | 4×100 m relay | 38.84 |
| Military World Games | Mungyeong, South Korea | 1st | 200 m | 20.64 | |
| 4th | 4×100 m relay | 39.64 |
References
- ↑ Eseosa Desalu. FIDAL. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
- ↑ Eseosa Desalu. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
- ↑ Peters, Lionel; Magnusson, Tomas, WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS WJC - 2012 Barcelona ESP Jul 10-15, WORLD JUNIOR ATHLETICS HISTORY ("WJAH"), archived from the original on 22 Feb 2014, retrieved 13 June 2015
- 1 2 22nd European Athletics Junior Championships, Stadio Raul Guidobaldi. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
- ↑ 5th European Athletics Team Championships. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
- ↑ Track & Field. Korea2015MWG. Retrieved on 2015-10-09.
- ↑ 경기 결과 남자 4 x 100m 릴레이 레이스 결승 . Korea2015MWG. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
- ↑ Eseosa Desalu. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
External links
- Eseosa Desalu profile at IAAF