Eseosa Desalu

Eseosa "Fausto" Fostine Desalu (born 19 February 1994) is an Italian track and field sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres who won a silver medal at the 2018 Mediterranean Games.[1]

Eseosa Desalu

Desalu at the 2015 Military World Games
Personal information
Nationality	Italian
Born	3 July 1995 Casalmaggiore, Italy
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	69 kg (152 lb)
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Sprint
Club	G.S. Fiamme Gialle
Coached by	Giangiacomo Contini
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 10.29 (2020) 200 m: 20.13 (2018)
Medal record European Team Championships 2019 Bydgoszcz 200 m Mediterranean Games 2018 Tarragona 100 m hs Military World Games 2015 Mungyeong 200 m

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.

Biography

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.[2] 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.[3] He also ran with the 4×100 metres relay team, but they were also eliminated in the heats stage.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6] 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).[5]

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

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. [9]

Personal bests

• 60 metres – 6.76 seconds (2015)
• 100 metres – 10.33 seconds (2018)
• 200 metres – 20.13 seconds (2018)
• 110 metres hurdles – 14.20 seconds (2010)
• 60 metres hurdles – 7.86 seconds (2011)
• All information from European Athletics[10]

Achievements

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
2018	Mediterranean Games	Tarragona, Spain	2nd	200 m	20.77
			1st	4×100 m relay	38.49
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	6th	200 m	20.13
			–	4 × 100 m relay	DQ
2019	World Relays	Yokohama, Japan	3rd (h)	4 × 100 m relay	38.29^1
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	21st (sf)	200 m	20.73

¹Did not finish in the final

See also

• Italian all-time lists - 200 metres

References

1. "NOC Medallist by Sport - Italy". tarragona2018.cat. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
2. Eseosa Desalu. FIDAL. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
3. Eseosa Desalu. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
4. 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
5. 22nd European Athletics Junior Championships, Stadio Raul Guidobaldi Archived 2015-10-03 at the Wayback Machine. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
6. 5th European Athletics Team Championships Archived February 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
7. Track & Field. Korea2015MWG. Retrieved on 2015-10-09.
8. 경기 결과 남자 4 x 100m 릴레이 레이스 결승 . Korea2015MWG. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
10. Eseosa Desalu. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.

External links

• Eseosa Desalu at World Athletics
• Eseosa Desalu at FIDAL web site (in Italian)