Alberto Cova

Alberto Cova

Cova in 1987
Personal information
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1958-12-01) 1 December 1958 Inverigo, Italy
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Athletics
Event	Long distance running
Club	Pro Patria Milano
Coached by	Giorgio Rondelli
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	5000 m: 13:10.06 (1985) 10000 m: 27:37.59 (1983)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 1 0 0 European Championships 1 1 0 European Indoor Championships 0 1 0 Mediterranean Games 1 0 0 European Cup 2 1 1 Total 6 3 1 Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles 10000 m World Championships 1983 Helsinki 10000 m European Championships 1982 Athens 10000 m 1986 Stuttgart 10000 m European Indoor Championships 1982 Milan 3000 m Mediterranean Games 1983 Casablanca 5000 m

Alberto Cova (born 1 December 1958) is a retired Italian long-distance track athlete, winner of the 10,000 m at the 1984 Summer Olympics and 1983 World Championships.

Biography

Born in Inverigo, province of Como, Italy, Alberto Cova was characterized by his superiority in the sprint finish, and the only way to nullify this was to set a very fast pace from the start to finish. Cova got his first fame at the 1982 European Championships in Athens, where he surprisingly outsprinted the main favourite Werner Schildhauer from East Germany, to win his first international championship title. In the next year, Cova wasn't the main favourite at the first World Championships held in Helsinki, being considered only as a possible medal winner. The 10,000 m final at Helsinki was run in slow pace, with thirteen runners still in a leading pack at the bell. With only 30 metres to go, Cova was only in fifth place, but then sprinted forward to win. Schildhauer finished in second place. The top four runners sprinted to the finish line in 0.33 seconds (see Yleisurheilun MM-kisat Helsingissä / Athletics World Championships in Helsinki, edited by the Juoksija/Runner magazine, Helsinki: 1983).

The 10,000 m final at the Los Angeles Olympics began at an even slower pace than at Helsinki. At the 6 km mark, Martti Vainio from Finland, picked up the speed. Cova managed to follow him, and Vainio couldn't sustain his own pace, so Cova swept past him after the bell and sprinted to the line to win his last international title (see, for example, Tapio Pekola et al., eds., Suuri Suomalainen Olympiakirja/The Great Finnish Olympic Book, Helsinki: Juoksija-lehti (Runner magazine)/Laaseri, 1984).

At the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart, Cova was beaten at his own game, when he was outsprinted by fellow countryman Stefano Mei on the last lap of the 10,000 m final. Cova never won a major race after that, and came tenth in his heat (thereby failing to qualify for the final) at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. This was his last international competition.

In the 1983 World Athletics Championships 10,000-metre final, there actually were seven men in the lead group at the bell (see the related video clip "Finns Near the Top" / Suomalaisia lähellä huippua in the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation YLE's Living Archives / Elävä arkisto, with the following links: Sports / Urheilu, Athletics / Yleisurheilu, World Championships / MM-kisat, 1983 World Championships / MM-kisat 1983; the website is www.yle.fi/elavaarkisto/). In the 1984 Olympics 10,000-metre final, Finland's Martti Vainio picked up the speed shortly before the 6 kilometre mark (see, for instance, The Great Olympic Book / Suuri Olympiateos, volume 4, published in Finland in 1984).

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time	Notes
1981	European Cup (Super League)	Zagreb	6th	5000 m	13:45.48
1982	European Indoor Championships	Milan	2nd	3000 m	7:54.12
	European Championships	Athens	DSQ	5000 m	No time
			1st	10,000 m	27:41.03
1983	World Championships	Helsinki	1st	10,000 m	28:01.04
	European Cup (Super League)	London	3rd	5000 m	13:55.59
			2nd	10,000 m	28:02.13
1984	Olympic Games	Los Angeles	1st	10,000 m	27:47.54
1985	European Cup (Super League)	Moscow	1st	5000 m	14:05.45
			1st	10,000 m	28:51.46
1986	European Championships	Stuttgart	8th	5000 m	13:35,86
			2nd	10,000 m	27:57.93
1988	Olympic Games	Seoul	Heat	10,000 m	28:43.84

National titles

He won fourteen national championships at senior level.

• Italian Athletics Championships
  • 5000 m: 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985 (4)
  • 10,000 m: 1981, 1982 (2)
• Italian Athletics Indoor Championships
  • 3000 m: 1982, 1983, 1984 (3)
• Italian Cross Country Championships
  • Long race: 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 (5)

See also

• FIDAL Hall of Fame
• Italy national athletics team - Multiple medalist
• Italian all-time lists - 5000 metres
• Italian all-time lists - 10000 metres

External links

• Alberto Cova at World Athletics
• Alberto Cova at the Italian Athletics Federation (in Italian)
• Alberto Cova at Olympics.com
• Alberto Cova at Olympedia
• Alberto Cova at the Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (in Italian)