Fausto Desalu in Olympic form, better only Pietro Mennea

Fausto Desalu record-breaking

È a splendid day for Fausto Desalu at the meeting in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The Olympic relay champion improved after six years in the 200 meters and became the second Italian ever with 20.08 (wind +0.8). Only the legend Pietro Mennea è managed to run faster in history, nationally, with 19.72 still the European record.

The Yellow Flames sprinter lowers the 20.13 dated 2018 by five hundredths, surpassing Filippo Tortu (20.10 two years ago) in the all-time lists. Back to rewrite the personal best is the Italian, magnificent protagonist with the 4×100 d’oro at the Tokyo Games, who had already shown to be growing in condition with the success in 20.30 at the recent Assoluti di La Spezia. But now the 30-year-old from Lombardy canò rejoice for having finally touched up his own limit, an excellent signal in view of the upcoming Paris Olympics, despite a lackluster start from the sixth lane, the mostù outside.

At the finish line he placed third in the wake of Frenchman Ryan Zeze (19.90) and South African Benjamin Richardson (19.99) but ahead of German Joshua Hartmann, fourth in 20.15. In the other series 20.53 (+0.4) by Andrea Federici (Atl. Biotekna) and 20.67 (+0.4) for Diego Pettorossi (Libertas Unicusano Livorno).

“I have to say that I am half happy – tells Fausto Desalu from Switzerland -. Happy becauseé after six years I improved the personal best with an important chrono, but I started badly and this does not make me satisfied. The way it started, I thought worse, forò at that point I wanted to make the race about myself. è what saved me, then at the exit of the curve I tried to regain the meters lost in the start. The head è on Paris and today’s stage was almost a training session, without pressure, although with world-class opponents. Now head down and we continue to work with humility ”.