Who is Kelly Doualla, the very young rising star of Italian athletics'athletics

Already a protagonist at the recent Summer Olympic Festival of Athletics dedicated to the Under 18s, where she had won the gold medal in the 100 meters and in the Swedish relay, Kelly Doualla repeated herself at the European Under 20s in Tampere, winning an extraordinary gold with a time of 11.22, only one hundredth slower than the Under 18 continental record that the same Italian had set in North Macedonia in July.

Kelly Doualla thus confirms herself as the emerging star of Italian athletics.

Born in Pavia on Nov. 20, 2009, to parents originally from Cameroon but with Italian citizenship, the very young sprinter grew up in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, where she also took up swimming and tennis before finally choosing the path of track speed.

She was a member, from 2021 to 2023, of Nuova Atletica Fanfulla Lodigiana, before moving to Pro Patria Milano in 2024, under the technical guidance of Walter Monti. Already as a cadet (luvello Under 16) she set important Italian records in her category, including that of the 100-meter flat in 11.46 and that of the long jump with 6.26 meters.

Kelly Doualla was Italian cadet champion in 2023 in the 80-meter flat (run in 9.81 on the’occasion) and the 4×100, medals that she also confirmed the following year, however, running the 80 meters in 9.42. In 2025, the’explosion at the cadet (Under 18) level, with successes at the Senior Championships in the 60 and 100 meters, run in 7.19 (U18 European record) and 11.36, respectively. In Tampere, on Friday, August 8, the consecration at the youth level, with the success among the Under 20 despite not yet having turned 16 years old.