Filippo Tortu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Filippo Tortu
	Tortu at the 2018 Mediterranean Games
Personal information
Born	15 June 1998 (age 23); Milan, Italy
Height	1.87 m
Weight	75 kg
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100 m, 200 m
Club	G.S. Fiamme Gialle
Coached by	Salvino Tortu
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 9.99 (2019); 200 m: 20.34 (2017);
	Olympic Games
	World Relays
Mediterranean Games
World U20 Championships
European U20 Championships

Filippo Tortu (born 15 June 1998) is an Italian sprinter with a personal best in the 100 meters of 9.99, the first Italian in history to break the 10 seconds barrier. He won the gold medal in 100 metres at the 2017 European U20 Championships and the silver medal at the 2016 World U20 Championships. He ran the anchor leg in the 4×100m relay of the Italian team that won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is coached by his father, Salvino Tortu, a former Sardinian sprinter who moved to Lombardy.

Biography

Born in Milan but with Sardinian origins (his father, Salvino Tortu, is a former runner too), he began to play sports at the age of eight years, dividing his time between track and field and basketball.

In 2010 and 2011, he won the title of fastest runner in Milan while competing in the categories prima media and seconda media (first and second years of middle school). He then started 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 although he did not qualify. He did however qualify for the 200 meters, but in the preliminary race for the Youth Olympics he fell at the finish line; he broke both arms and as a result 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, landing a 5th place. He participated at the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, where he won the silver medal in 100 meters with 10.24, behind the American Noah Lyles (10.17). In the same championship he participated in the 4×100 relay where they finished 7th.

At the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, Tortu competed in the men's 100m. 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 GB team by one-hundredth of a second and win a historic gold.

National records

100 metres: 9.99 (+0.2 m/s; Madrid, 22 June 2018) - former holder
4×100 m relay: 37.50 ( Tokyo, 6 August 2021), he ran final leg in the team with Lorenzo Patta, Marcell Jacobs, Eseosa Desalu

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time	Notes
2014	Youth Olympic Games	Nanjing	Final	200 metres	DNS
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam	9th (sf)	100 metres	10.19
	European Championships	Amsterdam	5th	4×100 m relay	38.69
	World U20 Championships	Bydgoszcz	2nd	100 metres	10.24
	World U20 Championships	Bydgoszcz	7th	4×100 m relay	40.02
2017	IAAF World Relays	Nassau	Heat	4×100 m relay	DQ	R170.7
	European U20 Championships	Grosseto	1st	100 metres	10.73 (–4.3)
	European U20 Championships	Grosseto	2nd	4×100 m relay	39.50
	World Championships	London	17th (sf)	200 metres	20.62	w
2018	Mediterranean Games	Tarragona	1st	4×100 m relay	38.49
	European Championships	Berlin	5th	100 metres	10.08
	European Championships	Berlin	—	4×100 m relay	DQ	R170.7
2019	World Championships	Doha	7th	100 m	10.07	SB
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo	1st	4×100 m relay	37.50	NR