ALBERTO COVA
69×55 cm
bject: Spiked running shoe for athletics
Model: Nike Zoom
Event: The XXIII Olympics
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles, CA)
Year: 1984
Category: Men’s 10,000 m
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (CA).
With just twelve laps to go, Finland’s Martti Vainio broke free from the pack.
Alberto Cova was the only runner who managed to stay with him.
The Finnish racer tried to lose his Italian adversary – a runner he both feared
and respected – in the final stretches, but there was nothing to be done.
Cova stuck with Vainio up until the last curve, then burst ahead of his opponent
and crossed the finish line alone, his arms raised up to the heavens,
winning the gold with a final time of 27’47”55. Alberto Cova remains the only Italian
in the history of middle-distance racing to win first the European championships (Athens, 1982),
then the World Championships (Helsinki, 1983) and ultimately Olympic gold (Los Angeles, 1984).