Fausto Desalu Explained

Fullname:Eseosa Fostine Desalu
National Team:Italy
Club:G.S. Fiamme Gialle
Coach:
  • Giangiacomo Contini
  • Sebastian Bacchieri
Nationality:Nigerian and Italian
Birth Date:19 February 1994
Birth Place:Casalmaggiore, Italy
Height:1.79 m
Weight:69 kg
Sport:Athletics
Event:Sprint
Pb:
  • 100 m: 10.21 (2022)
  • 200 m: 20.13 (2018)

Eseosa Fostine "Fausto" Desalu (pronounced as /it/;[1] born 19 February 1994) is an Italian sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres winning a silver medal in that event at the 2018 Mediterranean Games[2] and a gold medal in the 4×100 m relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[3]

He was the 200 metres gold medallist at the 2015 Military World Games. He holds a best of 20.13 seconds for the distance, set in 2018.

Biography

Born in Casalmaggiore, Italy, to Nigerian parents, Desalu acquired Italian citizenship in 2012, aged 18.

He 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.[4] A member of Gruppi Sportivi Fiamme Gialle – the sports club of Italy's fiscal police force – he made his international debut at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics. However, he failed to progress beyond the heats.[5] He also ran with the 4×100 metres relay team, but they were also eliminated in the heats stage.

Desalu's first international medal came at the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships, where he was a relay bronze medallist on home 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.[6] 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.[7] 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).[6]

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.[8] He came close to a second medal at the games in the relay, placing fourth with Cerutti, Obou and Matteo Galvan.[9]

In La Chaux-de-Fonds, he runs in 20.36 on 15 August 2020, best European performance of the year on 200 m. On 19 August, he improves at 20.35 (+1.3) at Bregyó Athletic Center, Székesfehérvár. On 4 September 2020, he becomes the first Italian to win a 200 m race event of the Diamond League during Memorial Van Damme in 20.39.[10]

Statistics

National records

Personal bests

For reference:

Achievements

2012World Junior ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain— (heats)200 m
5th (heats)4 × 100 m relay40.41
2013European Junior ChampionshipsRieti, Italy5th200 m21.16
3rd4 × 100 m relay40.00
2014European Team ChampionshipsBraunschweig, Germany3rd4 × 100 m relay39.06
European ChampionshipsZürich, Switzerland7th (semis)200 m20.73
4 × 100 m relay
2015IAAF World RelaysNassau, Bahamas3rd (heats)4 × 100 m relay38.84
Military World GamesMungyeong, South Koreabgcolor=gold1st200 m20.64
4th4 × 100 m relay39.64
2016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil49th (h)200 m20.65
2017IAAF World RelaysNassau, Bahamas4 × 100 m relayDQ
2018Mediterranean GamesTarragona, Spainbgcolor=silver2nd200 m20.77
bgcolor=gold1st4×100 m relay38.49
European ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany6th200 m20.13
4 × 100 m relayDQ
2019World RelaysYokohama, Japan3rd (h)4 × 100 m relay38.291
World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar21st (sf)200 m20.73
2021World RelaysChorzów, Polandbgcolor=gold1st4 × 100 m relay39.21
Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan16th (sf)200 m20.43
bgcolor=gold1st 4 × 100 m relay37.50
2022World ChampionshipsEugene, United States30th (h)200 m20.63
10th (h)4 × 100 m relay38.74
European ChampionshipsMunich, Germany13th (sf)200 m20.48
2023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary23rd (h)200 m20.49
2024European ChampionshipsRome, Italy5th200 m20.59
1Did not finish in the final

National titles

Desalu won three national championships at individual senior level.[13] [14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: DESALU Eseosa Fostine. Paris 2024. International Olympic Committee. 8 August 2024.
  2. Web site: NOC Medallist by Sport - Italy. tarragona2018.cat. 30 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180928093240/http://results.tarragona2018.cat/en/ALL/medals/noc/ITA. 28 September 2018. dead.
  3. Web site: 2021-08-06. Olympics: Italy win men's 4x100m relay - English. 2021-09-18. ANSA.it. en.
  4. http://www.fidal.it/atleta/Eseosa-Desalu/dqiSl5ehcWo%3D Eseosa Desalu
  5. http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/italy/eseosa-desalu-268440#honours Eseosa Desalu
  6. http://www.european-athletics-statistics.org/db/eurathresults.php?CID=12843718 22nd European Athletics Junior Championships, Stadio Raul Guidobaldi
  7. http://www.european-athletics-statistics.org/db/eurathresults.php?CID=12852330 5th European Athletics Team Championships
  8. http://www.korea2015mwg.org/sports/schedule/bydiscipline?rsc=AT0000000#2015-10-05 Track & Field
  9. http://www.korea2015mwg.org/sports/at/results?lang=en&rsc=ATM401101 경기 결과 남자 4 x 100m 릴레이 레이스 결승
  10. Web site: Program 2021.
  11. Web site: Athletics - Final Results - Men's 4 x 100m Relay. en. IOC. 6 August 2021. 5 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210805234729/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/athletics/result-men-s-4-x-100m-relay-fnl-000100-.htm. dead. - Current holder
  12. http://www.european-athletics.org/athletes/group=d/athlete=151002-desalu-eseosa/ Eseosa Desalu
  13. Web site: TUTTI I CAMPIONI ITALIANI 1906-2021. sportolimpico.it. 1 January 2021. 28 June 2021.
  14. Web site: Assoluti: altri 4 azzurri allo standard olimpico. fidal.it. it. 27 June 2021. 28 June 2021.