News15 Jul 2004


Andrew Howe is Italy's new found hero

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Andrew Howe of Italia wins Long Jump gold (© Getty Images)

Coming into the 10th IAAF World Junior Championships, Andrew Howe of Italy said the overwhelming media attention did not bother him. The 19-year-old Los Angeles-born from Rieti was seen laughing and joking with journalists and photographers alike extremely confident, very talkative and at ease speaking in either Italian or English.

With the biggest athletics competition in terms of participating athletes held in Italy since the 1987 World Championships in Rome, the whole nation found itself hoping a new champion would emerge. And Italians started believing the time had come for Andrew Howe to put the record straight and claim the first World Junior gold medal for its country since 1992!

The chances that Andrew Howe could win a medal at the World Junior Championships became realistic when the 19-year-old set the first of four national Long Jump records on 22 May with his first jump over the 8-metres barrier (8.01m) only four months after returning to training following the injury he suffered at the European Junior championships last summer.

In June, the Italian improved his national record to 8.04 and 8.07 successively and entered the World Junior Championships not only as the crowd’s favourite but also as the best junior jumper in the world this season.

However, just before the men’s Long Jump final yesterday, probably the most important competition in his still very young life, Howe was still very relaxed and refused to put himself under pressure.

It turned out to be an omen for Howe who needed, in addition to his physical abilities, the strongest state of mind to claim the gold medal which he and his mother, coach and masseuse René Felton had long waited for.

After taking the lead with his opening effort of 7.94m, Howe’s second attempt which was visibly a better jump was not registered as a technical problem prevented the judges from measuring the mark.

“When the judge came and explained what had happened, I was totally lost. I immediately thought about the World Youth Championships in Debrecen where the same thing happened to me.”

“It was the same jump, my second attempt. And it was the same problem, my jump was not measured. Again they explained the situation and told me I had to take another jump.”

Three years ago in Hungary, things were slightly different as Howe was not favourite for gold and the jump which was not measured was not decisive. He eventually finished third.

“These things happen. I think the competition would have been totally different had my jump been measured. I would have comforted my win as it probably was an 8.03m or 8.04m jump and I would have found myself in a stronger psychological position.”

“Also Mokoena jumped 7.99 straight after and it kind of put pressure on me. I had to respond quickly and the mistake I made was that I wanted to react too quickly.”

“I wanted to take back the lead with the extra jump I had to take. But then I realised I had to be patient, that I hadn’t lost yet and supported by my mother and the Italian head coach for jumps I relaxed and re-gained my concentration.”

Following three below-par jumps a determined Howe asked for the crowd support as he was preparing for his fifth attempt. The jump was a massive 8.11m and it rocketed Howe in the lead ahead of Mokoena – who had improved his national record to 8.00 metres and was left with another two attempts.

Howe’s celebration was incredible as the youngster started jumping in the air, and addressing the people in the stands with very explicit celebration expressions.

“I know I exaggerated a little bit with my celebration but this is something I have been dreaming of for so long I had to scream and shout. It wouldn’t have been enough for me to just throw my hands in the air I wanted the whole world to hear that I had won the title.”

“You have to understand that I have only come back from injury six or seven months ago. I have had disappointing experiences at the World Juniors in Kingston and the European Juniors last year so I wanted these Championships to be mine.”

"I worked harder than anybody else for this title. I had to take seven jumps when everybody else only took six!"

And the Grosseto World Junior Championships will definitely be marked by the achievements of the young man from Rieti who moved to Italy with his American mother thirteen years ago.

Like most of the best long jumpers in the world, Howe is also an excellent sprinter and following his Long Jump win which received front page coverage in most newspapers in Italy, Howe had no doubt about whether or not to compete in the 200m.

“At first I didn’t want to run the 200m, I thought it would take too much focus and energy out of me,” he said following his Long Jump title.

“But I feel so strong right now that I really want to step back on track tomorrow. I have got so much adrenaline and feel in such great shape that I really want to line-up in the 200 and then we’ll see what happens. After all there are only four athletes under 21 seconds and who knows I may have my chances also in the sprint.”

And Howe did look very strong in the first round of this morning’s 200m heats as he clocked a new personal best and fastest time of round one 20.86.

“That was the easiest race of my life,” commented a still excited Howe after his heat which was only nine hundredths of a second off the Italian Junior record of Alessandro Cavallaro.

A few hours later he stepped back on the track to win his semi-final heat in 20.72: a new National Junior record.

Whatever the outcome in the 200m, Howe is guaranteed fame in Italy as comparisons with Carl Lewis whose best was incidentally also 8.11 aged 19, started to flow.

Howe will now pursue his second dream of competing at the Olympic Games and will attempt to improve to 8.19 metres, a distance which would guarantee him a berth in the Italian team for Athens.

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