Feature01 Dec 1999


"Training is the name of the game"

FacebookTwitterEmail

1999 world 400m hurdles champion Fabrizio Mori (© Allsport)

Azmaal Hydoo (L’Express) interviews Fabrizio Mori, 400m hurdles World Champion in Mauritius

It is not every day that one has the chance to meet a World Champion. Even so, when Italy’s Fabrizio Mori, gold medallist at the World Championships in Seville last August, landed in Mauritius yesterday, his arrival was particularly discreet at SSR Airport. What a contrast! He who has become accustomed to being greeted wherever he goes by an enthusiastic fan club, most probably appreciated the calm and anonymity of his presence here.

The Italian has come to Mauritius for some light training before returning home to his family in Livorno for the end of year celebrations. And also to start the countdown towards the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where the Italian hopes to capture a coveted Olympic gold.

What brings you to Mauritius?

I have already been here on two occasions for athletics meetings (ed. – 1994 and 1996), but this time it is mostly due to Elio Locatelli (Co-Director of the IAAF Development Department) who spoke favourably about the area and advised me to come. At this time of year, it is much better to be here than in Europe. The climate is ideal for athletics. I made this choice in order to step up my preparations for the approaching months of training. I chose Mauritius in order to prepare myself even more than in previous years.

The 27th August 1999, you became 400m hurdles World Champion in Seville. Tell us how you did it?

It was actually a relatively easy year, with the opportunity to run at the World Championships and to concentrate solely on that event without any distractions. In this way I was able to put a lot of time into my training and was able to prepare myself well. My opponents were very strong: France’s Stephane Diagana and the Americans amongst others. I felt liberated and I felt that I was in really good shape, and this is how I was able to get that result. I really wanted to win and I knew that I could do something great.

Was this achievement expected?
Yes, absolutely. For the past couple of years I have had lots of minor injuries due to bad luck and feet problems, but in the end this year belonged to me.

It is obvious that your World Champion title is not a fluke, but were the public not surprised by your victory?
No, let’s say that the people thought I had a 50-50 chance of winning. From the semi-finals onwards, some thought I would win the title, whereas others thought that Diagana would be the winner. In fact, there was a lot of suspense at the final of the 400m hurdles.

We would imagine that you have been getting a lot of attention since…
Actually I was already fairly well known in Italy where I have achieved my best results, but now it is true that the World Championship title has changed people’s perception of me and I am no longer able to stay in Italy. People are always looking for me and trying to meet with me at any opportunity.

Does this bother you at all?
I have a very big fan club and it does give me a lot of satisfaction as they never fail to show their admiration at every chance whether it be at an awards ceremony and other public outings. It is true that I am in demand and sometimes feel the need to get away from it all.

When one takes a look at your career progression, we realise that your performances are steadily improving. Do you feel that you still have a large margin open for improvement?
As soon as I was able to concentrate only on training, my times started getting better. I feel that I still have a reasonable margin of improvement open to me, but it is getting more and more difficult to do better. For me, training is the name of the game. So if I train hard, I can only improve.

What are you aims for the future?
Without a doubt the Sydney Olympics. I have based my training around this event so that I can be in the best possible shape. I took part in the Olympics in Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, and these experiences will help me. I will do everything I can to make something exceptional happen in Australia.

Is there someone in particular you will be watching out for at the 2000 Olympics?
In Sydney, I’ll have to watch out for the Americans of course, but also the South Africans who were very strong this year. On the whole, there are a lot of young contenders.

The death of Primo Nebiolo shocked the entire world, including Mauritius which he visited on several occasions. Did you know him personally?
Yes, and I was very sad about his passing. He was a great man, who transformed athletics all over the world. For me he was a point of reference, a great personality. His successor will certainly have a difficult task to assume, but I wish him luck.

What is the state of Italian athletics on a world-wide scale?
In Italy we have had ups and downs, but we have lots of emerging young talent. We must seriously look after school kids and make them aware and enjoy athletics from an early age, this is the only way of using the full potential of Italians in this sport.

With the new millennium approaching, how do you see the future of Athletics?
I hope to see a positive evolution, most importantly with significant progress in the fight against doping. The sport must be as natural as possible in the future.

Loading...