Andrew Howe (born 12 May 1985) is an American-born Italian

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

who specializes in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

sprinting Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an op ...

. He won this event as well as the 200 metres at the 2004 World Junior Championships. He was successful at senior level at a young age, winning a long jump bronze at the

2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olympic Stadium (Moscow arena), Olimpiyski Sport are ...

before becoming the European Champion later that year. In 2007 he became the European Indoor Champion and won the silver medal at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member feder ...

. A combination of injuries ruled him out for most of the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He returned to action in 2010 and became the Italian champion, representing his country at the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, C ...

Biography

Howe was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States, to Andrew Howe Sr and René Felton, an American

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

who is a former United States Junior College National Record in the 100 meter hurdles in Europe and continued participating in Athletics at the Master Level winning Silver Medal 2001 European Indoor Championships 60 Meter hurdles. In 1992, Howe moved to

Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with his mother after she divorced Howe Sr and remarried Italian Ugo Besozzi. Coached by his mother, his international breakthrough came with the double gold medal in the men's long jump and 200 Meters at 2004 IAAF Junior World Championship in Grosseto, Italy 2006 World Indoor Championships, where he finished third. Later the same year he won the gold medal at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

. In the

2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England, from Friday, 2 March to Sunday, 4 March 2007. Birmingham also held the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 9th IAAF Wor ...

, he won gold with a fifth round leap of 8.30, after trailing his Greek competitor, and eventual silver medalist, Loúis Tsátoumas in the first four jumps. In the 2007 World Championships, he won the silver medal with a sixth jump of 8.47, achieving the Italian national record and his personal best. He was only surpassed by

Irving Saladino Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda (born January 23, 1983) is a Panamanian former long jumper. He was Olympic champion, having won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and remains Panama's first and only Olympic gold medalist. He was world champion in the ...

at his last jump with 8.57 m. He brought the year to a close with a win at the

2007 IAAF World Athletics Final The 5th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 22 and September 23, 2007. Results Men Women See also * 2007 in athletics (track and field) References ;Results2007 IAAF Wo ...

, becoming the first Italian to win at the competition and only the second to win an event at an IAAF season-end contest. He was given the first European Athletics Rising Star Award in recognition of his achievements that season. Following this, his 2008 season was blighted by a shoulder injury and then hamstring problems, and he did not make it past the qualifiers of the long jump at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. The next season held further physical problems for the Italian and surgery on his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

ruled him out for the year. He returned to action in July 2010 with a win in the long jump at the Italian Athletics Championships. He attempted to defend his continental title at the

, but his jump of 8.12 m brought him fifth place and

Christian Reif Christian Reif (born 24 October 1984 in Speyer) is a retired German long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Alo ...

succeeded him to the European title. Nearing the end of the season, Howe ran in the 200 m at the

Notturna di Milano Notturna di Milano () is an annual track and field meeting which is held in September at the Arena Civica in Milan, Italy. First held in 1998, the meeting received IAAF permit meeting status the following year. In its earlier years, men's sprinting ...

– marking a return to an event in which he had competed sparely. In a return to form, he won the race and although he eased up in the final metres he recorded a time of 20.30 seconds – two hundredths away from his long-standing personal best. He completed his winter training in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. At the start of the outdoor season he ran a personal best and European-leading time of 45.70 seconds over

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

and then took a surprise win over 200 m at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual Track and field, track and field event normally held at the Stadio Olimpico, Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 deat ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

with a run of 20.31 seconds (also a season's best for Europe). Italian Olympic gold medal sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs said that when he was growing up, Howe, who is also mixed-race and half-American, was his idol.

National records

Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

: 8.47 m (

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, 30 August 2007) - Current holder * Long jump indoor: 8.30 m (

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, 4 March 2007) - Current holder *

Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay The mixed 4 × 400 metres relay is a Mixed-sex sports, mixed-sex 4 × 400 metres relay in which teams field two men and two women. Initially, teams were free to arrange participants in any order. This created scenarios where mixed genders run o ...

: 3:16.15 (

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, 11 May 2019) with Re, Trevisan, Lukudo - Current holder

Achievements

;Youth ;Senior

National titles

Howe won seven national championships at individual

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

level. *

Italian Athletics Championships The Italian Athletics Championships () are the national championships in Athletics (sport), athletics, organised every year by the Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera. The first edition, four races only, was held in 1906 at Arena Civica in ...

**200 m: 2007, 2011, 2012 (3) **Long jump: 2007, 2010 (2) *

Italian Indoor Athletics Championships The Italian Athletics Indoor Championships () are the national championships in athletics of the indoor events, organised every year by the Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera from 1970 (first edition was held in Genoa). Titles assigned conce ...

**Long jump: 2006, 2007 (2)

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Andrew 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Rieti Athletes from Lazio Italian male sprinters Italian male long jumpers Olympic athletes for Italy Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Italy World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists American emigrants to Italy Naturalised citizens of Italy Athletics competitors of Centro Sportivo Aeronautica Militare European Athletics Rising Star of the Year winners Italian Athletics Championships winners Track and field athletes from Los Angeles Italian people of African-American descent 21st-century Italian sportsmen