Eddy Ottoz

Eddy Ottoz in January 2015

Eddy Ottoz (born June 3, 1944 in Mandelieu-la-Napoule , Alpes-Maritimes department , France ) is a former Italian athlete . With a height of 1.79 m, his competition weight was 67 kg.

Eddy Ottoz was the best European hurdle sprinter in the second half of the 1960s.

Career

At the age of 20, Ottoz took part in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In 13.8 s he finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles , making him the second best European behind Anatoly Michailow, who started for the Soviet Union, in third place. With Giovanni Cornacchia in seventh place and Giorgio Mazza in eighth place, two more Italians were in the final in Tokyo.

Two years later at the European Championships in Budapest in 1966 , Eddy Ottoz won gold in 13.7 s, ahead of Hinrich John from the Federal Republic of Germany, who, like third-placed Frenchman Marcel Duriez, needed 14.0 s. The first two of the 1962 European Championships , Michailow and Cornacchia, crossed the finish line in fourth and fifth, while the third Italian Sergio Liani came in sixth.

In Mexico City at the 1968 Olympic Games , new world records were set on almost all short running routes due to the altitude. The hurdles sprint was an exception here, as the winner Willie Davenport from the United States was a tenth of a second above the world record with 13.3 s. However, the electronically stopped 13.33 s for Davenport was the fastest electronic time up to that point. Silver went to the American Ervin Hall in 13.4 (13.42 s) seconds and Eddy Ottoz won bronze in 13.4 (13.46 s) seconds.

In Athens at the European Championships in 1969 Ottoz was able to defend his 1966 title in 13.5 seconds. Silver and bronze went to the British David Hemery and Alan Pascoe and the French Guy Drut came fourth .

In 1966, the first European Indoor Games, the forerunner of the official European Indoor Championships from 1970, were held in Dortmund . Eddy Ottoz won the 60 meter hurdles in 7.7 s ahead of the British Mike Parker in 7.8 s and Hinrich John. In 1967 in Prague the hurdle sprint over 50 meters was held. Ottoz won in 6.4 s ahead of Valentin Tschistjakow in 6.6 s and his better-known teammate Anatoly Michailow. At the third edition in 1968, 50 meters were run. Ottoz won his third indoor title in 6.52 s ahead of the German Günther Nickel .

Eddy Ottoz was Italian champion in the 110 meter hurdles between 1965 and 1969.

Eddy Ottoz had relatively poor best times on the flat stretches, and he owed his successes to his excellent technique when crossing hurdles.

He married Lyana Calvesi , the daughter of his trainer Sandro Calvesi and the discus thrower Gabre Gabric . Eddy Ottoz and his wife have three children: their daughter Pilar and their sons Laurent and Patrick , who also became athletes. In 1994 Laurent Ottoz managed to beat the Italian national record in hurdles sprint in Berlin in 13.42 seconds, which his father had set in Mexico City almost 26 years earlier.

Top performances

• 110 meter hurdles: 13.46 s (1968)
• 100 meter run: 10.7 s

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede: The Modern Olympic Century 1896-1996 Track and Field Athletics , Berlin 1999, published by the German Society for Athletics Documentation eV

Web links

• Eddy Ottoz in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )