Filippo Tortu (born 15 June 1998) is an Italian sprinter. He was the first Italian to break the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less ...

and is the second fastest Italian in the 100 metres after

Marcell Jacobs Lamont Marcell Jacobs Jr. (; born 26 September 1994) is an Italian track and field sprinter and former long jumper. He is the 2020 Olympic 100 metres champion, the 2022 60 metres world champion, the 2022 and 2024 European 100 metres champi ...

. He ran the anchor leg in the

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky i ...

of the Italian team that won a gold medal at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. His leg was the fifth fastest

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

of all time. He is coached by his father, Salvino Tortu, a former

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

n sprinter who moved to

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Biography

Born in Milan to a Sardinian father, former runner Salvino, and a Lombard mother, Paola Confalonieri, he began to play sports at the age of eight years, dividing his time between

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. In 2010 and 2011, he won the title of fastest runner in Milan while competing in the categories of ''prima media'' and ''seconda media'' (first and second years of

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

). He then began to dedicate himself entirely to track and field, coached by his father. In 2013, he won the 80 meters in the Italian championships in Jesolo (category ''cadetto'') with a time of 9.09. He finished third at the 2014 trials for the European Youth Olympic Games, but did not qualify. He did, however, qualify for the 200 meters, but in a preliminary race for the Youth Olympics, he fell at the finish line; he broke both arms, and as a result, he was not able to compete in the finals. In 2015, he broke the Italian youth record in the 100 meters with a time of 10.33, as well as in the 200 meters with a time of 20.92. In 2016, he broke the Italian junior record of 100 meters in Savona, twice obtaining a time of 10.24; this record had been unbeaten for 34 years, and was held by Pierfrancesco Pavoni who ran the distance in 10.25 at the 1982 European Championships. A month later, he landed his first Italian title in Rieti, winning the final of 100 meters in 10.32. He took part in the European Championships in Amsterdam, where he qualified for the semifinals by winning with a time of 10.19, which was a new Italian junior record. He failed, however, to reach the final by 0.03 seconds. He also ran the final leg of 4 × 100 relay, finishing in 5th place. He participated at the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, where he won the silver medal in 100 meters with a time of 10.24, behind American

Noah Lyles Noah Lyles (born July 18, 1997) is an American track and field Sprint (running), sprinter who competes in the 60 meters, 100 metres, 100 meters and 200 metres, 200 meters events. His personal best of 19.31 seconds in the 200 m is the List of Un ...

(10.17). In the same championships, he participated in the 4 × 100 relay where they finished 7th. At the

, Tortu competed in the men's 100 m. He reached the semi-final, but did not qualify for the finals. Tortu also ran the anchor leg in the 4 × 100 relay final, coming from behind to pip the British team by one-hundredth of a second, running his leg with only 8.845 seconds and winning an unexpected historic gold. In 2024, he competed at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, this time competing in the 200 metres instead. He reached the semifinal round but did not qualify for the finals. He ran the anchor leg of the 4 × 100 relay to defend their title, but finished in 4th.Paris 2024 - Olympic Schedule - Athletics
, '' Olympics.com''. Retrieved 29 June 2024.

National records

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

: 9.99 (+0.2 m/s;

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, 22 June 2018) - former Italian record *

: 37.50 (

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, 6 August 2021), he ran final leg in the team with

Lorenzo Patta Lorenzo Patta (born 23 May 2000) is an Italian sprinter who won a gold medal in relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. On 13 May 2021, running in Savona in 10.13, he established the 7th Italian all-time performance on 100 m and a ...

Eseosa Desalu Eseosa Fostine "Fausto" Desalu (; born 19 February 1994) is an Italian sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres winning a silver medal in that event at the 2018 Mediterranean Games and a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2020 Summer O ...

Achievements

Personal bests

;Outdoor *

: 9.99 (+0.2 m/s;

, 22 June 2018) * Fastest 100 metre anchor leg: 8.845 (

, 5 August 2021) *

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

: 20.10 (+0.3 m/s;

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

, 19 July 2022) ;Indoor *

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

: 6.58 (

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

, 20 January 2019)

National titles

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 ...

: 2016 **

: 2023 *

Italian Athletics Indoor 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 ...

: 2020

References

External links

*
Filippo Tortu
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Filippo Tortu – CONI – Paris 2024
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tortu, Filippo 1998 births Living people Italian male sprinters Athletes from Milan Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Italy Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Italy Athletics competitors of Fiamme Gialle Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Italian Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Italy Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Italian people of Sardinian descent European Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 European Games European Games silver medalists for Italy European Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Italian sportsmen