Cosimo Caliandro (11 March 1982 – 10 June 2011) was an Italian middle distance runner who won a gold medal at the 2007 European Indoor Championships.

Biography

Caliandro was born in Francavilla Fontana. In his first appearance on the world stage, he ran in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

at the

1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the first edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 16 to July 18, 1999. Results Boys Girls Medal table External links Offic ...

, but did not progress beyond the heats.Caliandro, Cosimo

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2011-06-11. He also competed at the European Youth Olympic Festival that year and he won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the 800 metres. His first major medal came at the

2001 European Athletics Junior Championships The 2001 European Athletics Junior Championships was an athletics competition for athletes under-20 which was held at the Stadio Olimpico Carlo Zecchini in Grosseto, Italy from 19 – 22 July 2001. A total of 44 events were contested, 22 by male an ...

, where he became the

champion. As a junior athlete, he represented Italy at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships placing 100th in 2000, and improving to 68th the following year. At the

2001 European Cross Country Championships The 8th European Cross Country Championships were held at Thun in Switzerland on 9 December 2001. Serhiy Lebid took his second title in the men's competition and Yamna Belkacem won the women's race. Results Men individual 9.15 km Total 77 ...

, he came 28th overall in the men's junior race. His first participation at world senior level was a 44th place at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships. Caliandro was eliminated in the heats of the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

at the

2005 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2005 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid, Palacio de Deportes in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, from Friday, 4 March to Sunday, 6 March 2005. This was the first edition to b ...

, but returned two years later to win in the event final at the

2007 European Indoor Athletics Championships The 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England, from Friday, 2 March to Sunday, 4 March 2007. Birmingham also held the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Men's results Tra ...

in Birmingham. He represented Italy at the

2008 European Athletics Indoor Cup The 2008 European Athletics Indoor Cup was held on 16 February 2008 at the CSKA Universal Sports Hall in Moscow, Russia. It was the fourth and final edition of the indoor track and field meeting for international teams, which featured the six top ...

, taking silver over 3000 m. He won the Cross Della Volpe in Piedmont and earned a spot at the

2010 European Cross Country Championships The 2010 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that took place on 12 December in Albufeira, Portugal. It was the second time that the country hosted the event, building upon the 1997 edition hel ...

. He died on 10 June 2011, as a result of a motorbike accident in his native town of Francavilla Fontana, in southern Italy. He had a wife and two sons.

National titles

He won 3 national championships at individual senior level. * Italian Athletics Championships **5000 metres: 2006 *

Italian Indoor Athletics Championships The Italian Athletics Indoor Championships ( it, Italian Athletics Indoor Championships) are the national championships in athletics of the indoor events, organised every year by the Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera from 1970 (first edition ...

**3000 metres: 2005, 2006

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caliandro, Cosimo 1982 births People from Francavilla Fontana Italian male middle-distance runners Motorcycle road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Italy 2011 deaths Athletics competitors of Fiamme Gialle Sportspeople from the Province of Brindisi