Nicola Vizzoni

Nicola Vizzoni (born 4 November 1973 in Pietrasanta, Province of Lucca) is a male hammer thrower from Italy. He won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and ten years later at the 2010 European Athletics Championships. His personal best throw is 80.50 metres, achieved in July 2001 in Formia.

Nicola Vizzoni
Vizzoni at Moscow 2013.
Personal information
NicknameIlvizzo
NationalityItalian
Born (1973-11-04) 4 November 1973 (age 50)
Pietrasanta, Italy
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight126 kg (278 lb)
Sport
CountryItaly Italy
SportAthletics
EventHammer throw
ClubG.S. Fiamme Gialle
Retired2016
Medal record
Event1st2nd3rd
Olympic Games010
European Championships010
Summer Universiade100
Mediterranean Games201
World Military Games020
World Military Championships210
European Cup131
European Cup Winter Throwing201
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2000 SydneyHammer throw
European Championships
Silver medal – second place2010 BarcelonaHammer throw
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place2001 BeijingHammer throw
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place2001 RadèsHammer throw
Gold medal – first place2009 PescaraHammer throw
Bronze medal – third place2013 MersinHammer throw

He has won 19 medals (8 gold, 8 silver, 3 bronze) at the International athletics competitions.[1] Vizzoni is the coach of the Italian national team for the hammer throw.

Biography

He made his first appearance at the World Championships in Athletics in 1997 but he did not make the final. In 1999 he finished seventh in the hammer throw final and the next year he took the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He just missed out on the podium at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, finishing fourth, but he gained regional honours with a gold at the 2001 Mediterranean Games and also won gold at the Summer Universiade.

He competed at the following two Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008, but was some distance off winning another medal. He became the Mediterranean champion for a second time with a win at the 2009 Mediterranean Games. Vizzoni made a strong start to the 2010 season, throwing 78.22 m early on and winning the gold at the 2010 European Cup Winter Throwing event.[2]

He is engaged to former Italian athlete Claudia Coslovich, national record holder of the javelin throw.[3]

Progression

He finished the season 8 times in world top 25.[4]

YearTimeVenueDateWorld Rank
201375.03 Vila Real de S. António25 May
201276.42 Helsinki28 June
201180.29 Florence4 June7th
201079.12 Barcelona28 July6th
200979.74 Campi Bisenzio17 May6th
200878.79 Lucca10 June25th
200778.21 Albufeira26 May17th
200676.89 Faenza27 September
200574.82 Florence17 June
200476.95 Florence10 July
200377.69 Viareggio13 August
200278.80 Viareggio23 August
200180.50 Formia14 July13th
200079.64 Sydney24 September23rd
199979.59 Padua26 June17th
199877.89 Rome9 July
199777.10 San Marino17 May
199675.30 Pretoria1 January
199574.48 Pescara13 September
199471.78 Pescara18 June

Achievements

YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
Representing  Italy
1991European Junior ChampionshipsThessaloniki, Greece8th62.20 m
1992World Junior ChampionshipsSeoul, South Korea5th66.96 m
1995UniversiadeFukuoka, Japan13th70.70 m
1997Mediterranean GamesBari, Italy5th74.86 m[5]
UniversiadeCatania, Italy5th75.12 m[6]
World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece22nd73.42 m
1998European ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary17th74.65 m
1999World ChampionshipsSeville, Spain7th78.31 m
World Military GamesZagreb, Croatia2nd78.04 m
2000Olympic GamesSydney, Australia2nd79.64 m
2001Mediterranean Gamesİzmir, Tunisia1st78.48 m[5]
World ChampionshipsEdmonton, Canada4th80.13 m
World Military ChampionshipsBeirut, Lebanon1st77.93 m
UniversiadeBeijing, China1st78.41 m[6]
2002European ChampionshipsMunich, Germany13th77.57 m
World Military ChampionshipsTivoli, Italy1st77.80 m
2003European Cup Winter ThrowingGioia Tauro, Italy1st75.35 m
World ChampionshipsParis, France15th75.76 m
2004Olympic GamesAthens, Greece10th74.27 m
2005Mediterranean GamesAlmeria, Spain4th73.64 m
World ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland25th70.77 m
2006European ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden9th76.55 m
2007World ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan16th73.64 m
World Military GamesHyderabad, India2nd74.97 m
2008Olympic GamesBeijing, PR China13th75.01 m
2009European Cup Winter ThrowingTenerife, Spain3rd78.51 m
Mediterranean GamesPescara, Italy1st75.92 m[5]
World ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany9th73.70 m
World Military ChampionshipsSofia, Bulgaria3rd78.06 m
2010European Cup Winter ThrowingArles, France1st76.63 m
2010European ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain2nd79.12 m
2011World ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea8th77.04 m
2012European ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland5th75.13 m
Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom8th76.07 m
2013Mediterranean GamesMersin, Turkey3rd76.86 m
World ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia7th77.61 m

Palmarès

Nicola Vizzoni has been a finalist 10 times in his 17 appearances in the three major International athletics competitions.

Olympic GamesWorld ChampionshipsEuropean Championships
000408129799010305070911139802061012
210NF8NF74NFNFNF987NFNF925

National titles

Nicola Vizzoni has won the individual national championship 28 times.[7][8]

  • 14 wins in the hammer throw (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014)
  • 14 wins in the hammer throw at the Italian Winter Throwing Championships (1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014)

Honours

Officer: Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 27 September 2004[9]

See also

References