- The Italian Olympic Committee announced on April 8 that Donato Sabia, an Olympic finalist in 1984 and ’88, died from coronavirus (COVID-19) at age 56. Sabia is third from the left (bib No. 520) in the above photo.
- Sabia ran his fastest 800 meters in June 1984 in Florence, Italy, clocking 1:43.88, which is the third-fastest time ever recorded by an Italian.
Amid the tens of thousands of lives that have been tragically lost because of coronavirus (COVID-19), one was a former Olympic runner. On 8 April, the Italian Olympic Committee announced that Donato Sabia, a two-time Olympian, died from COVID-19 at age 56. According to the Olympic Channel, he was the first known Olympic finalist to die from the virus.
Before his passing, Sabia had been treated in the intensive care unit of the San Carlo hospital in Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, the Olympic Channel reported.
“We are mourning the loss of a great actor of our world, a champion on and off tracks,” Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) Giovanni Malagò told the Olympic Channel. “He was a phenomenon, not only because of his two Olympic finals which makes him unforgettable, but also because of all the titles he won, including the European one in Gothenburg in 1984.”
Sabia, who was raised in Potenza, excelled internationally as a middle-distance runner in the 1980s. In 1984, he won gold in the European indoor world championship 800 meters, finishing in 1:48.05. That same year, he finished fifth in the finals of the Olympic 800 meters in Los Angeles. Then in 1988, he returned to race the 800 meters at the Seoul Olympics, finishing seventh in the final.
The runner ran his fastest 800 meters in June 1984 in Florence, Italy, clocking 1:43.88. That performance remains the third-fastest time ever recorded by an Italian, according to European Athletics.
After retiring from competition in 1990, Sabia continued to play a role in the sport as the president of the Italian Athletic Federation (FIDAL) regional committee in Basilicata. Today, his country remembers him as the “light-footed boy.”
In an essay remembering Sabia, the FIDAL wrote, “He was a champion who didn’t have what he deserved, he was a master of calligraphy, he was a miracle of firmness and determination even when the angry waves of adversity threatened to overwhelm him.”
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