Filippo Tortu (born 15 June 1998) is an Italian sprinter with a personal best in the 100 meters of 9.99, the first Italian in history to break the 10 seconds barrier. He won the gold medal in 100 metres at the 2017 European U20 Championships and the silver medal at the 2016 World U20 Championships. He ran the anchor leg in the 4×100m relay of the Italian team that won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. At the individual level he won the bronze medal in 200 metres at the 2022 European Championships. He is coached by his father, Salvino Tortu, a former Sardinian sprinter who moved to Lombardy.[1]
Biography
Born in Milan but with Sardinian origins (his father, Salvino Tortu, is a former runner too), he began to play sports at the age of eight years, dividing his time between track and field and basketball.
In 2010 and 2011, he won the title of fastest runner in Milan while competing in the categories prima media and seconda media (first and second years of middle school). He then started to dedicate himself entirely to track and field, coached by his father. In 2013, he won the 80 meters in the Italian championships in Jesolo (category cadetto) with a time of 9.09.
He finished third at the 2014 trials for the European Youth Olympic Games although he did not qualify. He did however qualify for the 200 meters, but in the preliminary race for the Youth Olympics he fell at the finish line; he broke both arms and as a result was not able to compete in the finals. In 2015, he broke the Italian youth record in the 100 meters with a time of 10.33, as well as in the 200 meters with a time of 20.92.
In 2016, he broke the Italian junior record of 100 meters in Savona, twice obtaining a time of 10.24; this record had been unbeaten for 34 years, and was held by Pierfrancesco Pavoni who ran the distance in 10.25 at the 1982 European Championships. A month later, he landed his first Italian title in Rieti, winning the final of 100 meters in 10.32. He took part in the European Championships in Amsterdam, where he qualified for the semifinals by winning with a time of 10.19, which was a new Italian junior record. He failed, however, to reach the final by 0.03 seconds. He also ran the final leg of 4×100 relay, landing a 5th place. He participated at the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, where he won the silver medal in 100 meters with 10.24, behind the American Noah Lyles (10.17). In the same championship he participated in the 4×100 relay where they finished 7th.
At the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, Tortu competed in the men's 100m. He reached the semi-final but did not qualify for the finals.[2] Tortu also ran the anchor leg in the 4×100 relay final, coming from behind to pip the GB team by one-hundredth of a second, running his leg with only 8.845 seconds and winning a historic gold.[3]
National records
- 100 metres: 9.99 (+0.2 m/s;
Madrid, 22 June 2018) - former Italian record[4] - 4×100 m relay: 37.50 (
Tokyo, 6 August 2021), he ran final leg in the team with Lorenzo Patta, Marcell Jacobs, Eseosa Desalu[5]
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Youth Olympic Games |  Nanjing
|
Final | 200 metres | DNS | [6] |
| 2016 | European Championships |  Amsterdam
|
9th (sf) | 100 metres | 10.19 | 
|
| 5th | 4×100 m relay | 38.69 | ||||
| World U20 Championships |  Bydgoszcz
|
2nd | 100 metres | 10.24 | ||
| 7th | 4×100 m relay | 40.02 | ||||
| 2017 | IAAF World Relays |  Nassau
|
Heat | 4×100 m relay | DQ | R170.7 |
| European U20 Championships |  Grosseto
|
1st | 100 metres | 10.73 (–4.3) | ||
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 39.50 | ||||
| World Championships |  London
|
17th (sf) | 200 metres | 20.62 | w | |
| 2018 | Mediterranean Games | Tarragona
|
1st | 4×100 m relay | 38.49 | 
|
| European Championships |  Berlin
|
5th | 100 metres | 10.08 | ||
| — | 4×100 m relay | DQ | R170.7 | |||
| 2019 | IAAF World Relays | Yokohama
|
Final | 4×100 m relay | DNF | [7] |
| World Championships |  Doha
|
7th | 100 metres | 10.07 | SB | |
| 10th (sf) | 4×100 m relay | 38.11 | NR | |||
| 2021 | World Athletics Relays | Chorzów
|
1st | 4×100 m relay | 39.21 | [8] |
| Olympic Games | Tokyo
|
18th (sf) | 100 metres | 10.16 | [9] | |
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 37.50 | NR | |||
| 2022 | World Championships |  Eugene
|
9th (sf) | 200 metres | 20.10 |
|
| 10th (h) | 4×100 m relay | 38.74 | SB | |||
| European Championships | Munich
|
3rd | 200 metres | 20.27 | ||
| 2023 | European Team Championships | Chorzów
|
5th | 200 metres | 20.61 | |
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 38.47 | SB | |||
| World Championships |  Budapest
|
25th (h) | 200 metres | 20.46 | ||
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 37.62 | SB [10] |
Personal bests
- Outdoor
- 100 metres: 9.99 (+0.2 m/s; Madrid, 22 June 2018)
- Fastest 100 metre anchor leg: 8.845 (Tokyo, 5 August 2021)
- 200 metres: 20.10 (+0.3 m/s; Eugene, 19 July 2022)
- Indoor
National titles
- Italian Athletics Championships
- 100 metres: 2016
- 200 metres: 2023
- Italian Athletics Indoor Championships
- 60 metres: 2020
See also
- 2018 in 100 metres (19th with 9.99)
- 2019 in 100 metres (46th with 10.07)
- 2020 in 100 metres (15th with 10.07)
- List of Italian records in athletics
- Italian all-time lists - 100 metres
- Italian all-time lists - 200 metres
- Italian national track relay team
References
- ^ a b "FIDAL profile". Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ "Athletics - TORTU Filippo". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ Coskrey, Jason (6 August 2021). "Italy sprints to gold in men's 4x100-meter final; Japan does not finish". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "SPRINT RECORDS FALL IN MADRID". iaaf.org. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
...the European junior champion clocked 9.99 to beat the long-standing Italian record of 10.01 set by Pietro Mennea back in 1979, 19 years before Tortu was born.
- ^ "Athletics - Final Results - Men's 4 x 100m Relay". IOC. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ 21.38 in semifinals
- ^ 38.29 in semifinals SB
- ^ 38.45 in semifinals EL
- ^ 10.10 in heats SB
- ^ WL in semifinals
External links
- Filippo Tortu at World Athletics
- Filippo Tortu at Diamond League
- Filippo Tortu at the Italian Athletics Federation (in Italian)
- Filippo Tortu at Olympics.com
- Filippo Tortu at Olympedia
- Filippo Tortu at the Italian National Olympic Committee (in Italian)
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