Andrew Besozzi (ITA) jumping at the 2001 World Youth C hampionships (© Getty Images)
17yearold Andrew Howe Besozzi, born in Los Angeles in 1985 but an Italian citizen ever since he moved to the Italian town of Rieti at the age of six, provided the highlight of the Italian Junior Championships last weekend (1 - 2 February). In Ancona, Besozzi won two titles, the Triple Jump in 16.06, an Italian under-20 record, and the 200 metres with 21.45.
"I prepared specifically for the triple during my training sessions but I did not really expect to leap beyond the 16 metres barrier in my first attempt apparently without any effort,” said Besozzi at the weekend.
“After my first attempt I wondered what I could achieve by pushing in the following jumps. However, I did not jump so naturally as in my first attempt. In the 200 metres, I expected to run faster but I ran without opponents who were able to push me."
"Now I would like to take part in some meetings abroad to have the chance to run under the 21 seconds barrier and improve my bests in the Long and Triple Jump".
These superb results came after his astonishing 200m win in 21.11 on the same indoor track in Ancona on 18 January.
"On that occasion I was pushed beyond my limits by the Italian sprinter Massimiliano Donati, seventh at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy in the 200 metres and by athletes who were older than me. I would have probably run 21.4 -21.5, if I had run against athletes of my own age".
Besozzi ran only twelve hundredths of a second off the Italian indoor junior record held by Carlo Occhiena, which was set in Turin in 1990 during the latter’s last year as a junior. Besozzi’s 21.11 is the best ever for a 17-year-old boy in Italy. His previous indoor PB was 21.67. This indicates that he has still room for improvement in the years to come.
Moreover, he leapt 7.63 in the Long Jump in Ancona on 25 January, two centimetres better than his previous PB of 7.61 set outdoors at the 2001 World Youth Championships in Debrecen, when he won the bronze medal behind the Brazilian Carahyba Dias Thiago (7.72) and Abdulla Al Walid of Qatar (7.62).
Besozzi’s mother is Reneè Felton, a former American hurdler of Caribbean origin, who is still competing in veteran championships, and coaches Andrew and a group of young athletes at Rieti.
Reneè, who was formerly married to Andrew Howe senior (a former football player of German origin) in the USA, moved to Rieti after her second marriage to the Italian Ugo Besozzi.
"My relationship with my mother is always the same both at home and on the track. She does not change her attitude towards me when she coaches."
Rieti has a special reputation for promoting athletics among the youngsters. Besozzi competes for the local track and field team "Studentesca Cariri Rieti", which won the Italian Youth Club Championships with both it’s male and the female squads last summer in the italian town of Clusone. "Rieti is one of the best towns in the world. This town always helps me whenever I need,” comments Besozzi.
Of course, Rieti stages an annual IAAF Grand Prix (scheduled for this summer on 7 September), a meeting which arouses much enthusiasm among the local people. It was there that the young Besozzi gained inspiration, meeting for the first time the big names of international athletics like Noureddine Morceli, Linford Christie and Michael Johnson.
At the 2001 Rieti meeting, just two months after winning his bronze medal at the World Youths in Debrecen, Besozzi ran a special under-18 200 metres, winning in a wind-assisted 20.91 ahead of some of the best under-18 sprinters in the world. "This race I won in front of my team mates and friends, has a special significance for me. It was one of the first experiences at international level I have had in my life".
To prepare for that race in Rieti, Andrew and his mother flew to Los Angeles for a one-month training camp. During the trip to California, Reneè met, after many years apart the sprint legend Tommie Smith, the 1968 Olympic 200m champion (World record of 19.83) who was her former coach. Smith gave useful and wise advice to the young Besozzi.
"Tommie is like a grandfather for me. He told me that I am an extremely talented athlete who still needs to improve a lot. He compares me to a sculpture which has still to be shaped."
His trip to the USA was filmed by the Italian Rai Television which broadcast the footage during "Sfide", a popular sports programme on the national Italian television.
Besozzi first grabbed the headlines in October 2000 when he leapt 7.52m at the age of 15 (second longest jump in the all-time list at that age behind the illustrious name of Robert Emmiyan). His improvement was astonishing. He then upset many Italian pundits in the summer of 2001, when he ran the 200m in a legal 20.99 during the international youth Brixia meeting in Bressanone in Northern Italy. This represented the third best European performance on the under-18 All-time list, behind the Britons Tim Benjamin (20.72 in 1999) and Ade Mafe (20.92 in 1983).
What is most impressive about Besozzi is his versatility. He set an outdoor best of 16.27m in the Triple Jump by winning the 2002 Gymnasiade in Caen (France), despite a strong headwind of -2.7 m/s (14cm off Paolo Camossi's Italian junior record), cleared 2.06 in the High Jump at the age of 15 (without any specific preparation for this event), ran the 110m Hurdles in 14.65 (106 cm hurdles) at the Youth Championships Club in Copenhagen (September 2002), and also clocked 13.59 (with 91.4 cm hurdles), both Italian under-18 records.
Last summer, at the World Juniors, Besozzi “only” competed in the 4x100 relay, as the selectors preferred not to push the young guy in individual competitions against athletes older and more experienced. The young italian squad placed fifth in 39.86, the first European team home, in a good 39.86. "Next summer features the 2003 European Junior Championships in the Finnish town of Tampere. 'Touching wood' we are among the favourites for the continental title in the relay," confirmed Besozzi.
However, Besozzi’s main goal is to represent Italy in the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships in the Italian town of Grosseto on the Tuscan Riviera, a venue which also staged a successful edition of the European Juniors in July 2001. "I will focus on the 200 metres and choose either the Long and the Triple Jump as well. I am looking forward to competing in Grosseto. An event of this kind on home soil does not happen everyday...."
Besozzi is an outgoing boy who enjoys doing athletics and likes meeting his friends. He trains at the Raul Guidobaldi stadioum. "Athletics is still fun for me although I have gradually increased my training sessions from three to five days a week."
He has a very good reputation among his team mates and the representatives of the national team who appreciate his natural and positive attitude towards athletics and life in general.
He was chosen by the Italian Federation FIDAL as its athletes representative and made a speech when it officially presented Rome's bid to host the 2005 World Championships, at the IAAF Council meeting in Nairobi last April. "Making a speech in front of the IAAF was an exciting experience and a great responsibility at the same time. But I enjoyed this experience a lot."
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
