Eseosa Desalu

Eseosa Desalu

Eseosa Desalu at the 2015 Military World Games
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Italy
Military World Games
2015 Mungyeong 200 m

Eseosa "Fausto" 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 20.31 seconds for the distance, set in 2016.

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

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
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 49th (h) 200 m 20.65
2017 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas – 4×100 m relay DQ

References

  1. ↑ Eseosa Desalu. FIDAL. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
  2. ↑ Eseosa Desalu. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
  3. ↑ 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 February 2014, retrieved 13 June 2015
  4. 1 2 22nd European Athletics Junior Championships, Stadio Raul Guidobaldi. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
  5. ↑ 5th European Athletics Team Championships Archived February 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
  6. ↑ Track & Field. Korea2015MWG. Retrieved on 2015-10-09.
  7. ↑ 경기 결과 남자 4 x 100m 릴레이 레이스 결승 . Korea2015MWG. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
  8. ↑ Eseosa Desalu. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
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