View source for Alberto Cova

{{short description|Italian long-distance runner}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor =
| name = 
| nickname =
| fullname = 
| image = Alberto Cova.jpg
| imagesize = 
| caption = Cova in 1987
| nationality = [[Italia]]n
| sport = [[Athletics (sport)|Athletics]]
| event = [[Long distance running]]
| club = [[Pro Patria Milano]]
| collegeteam =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1958|12|1}}
| birth_place = [[Inverigo]], Italy
| residence = 
| coach = [[Giorgio Rondelli]]
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| height = 1.76 m
| weight = 58 kg
| pb = 
*5000 m: 13:10.06 (1985)
*10,000 m: 27:37.59 (1983)
| country = {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Italy national athletics team|Italy]]
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCount|total=yes
|[[Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]|1|0|0
|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]|1|0|0
|[[European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]|1|1|0
|{{nowrap|[[European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]}}|0|1|0
|[[Mediterranean Games]]|1|0|0
|[[European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]]|2|1|1
}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]] | [[Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics|10,000 m]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1983 World Championships in Athletics|1983 Helsinki]]|[[1983 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres|10,000 m]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1982 European Championships in Athletics|1982 Athens]]|[[1982 European Athletics Championships – Men's 10,000 metres|10,000 m]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1986 European Championships in Athletics|1986 Stuttgart]]|[[1986 European Athletics Championships – Men's 10,000 metres|10,000 m]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1982 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1982 Milan]]|3000 m}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Mediterranean Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1983 Mediterranean Games|1983 Casablanca]]|5000 m}}
}}

'''Alberto Cova''' (born 1 December 1958) is a retired [[Italy|Italian]] [[Long-distance track event|long-distance track]] [[Athletics (sport)|athlete]], winner of the 10,000 m at the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] and [[1983 World Championships in Athletics|1983 World Championships]].

==Biography==
Born in [[Inverigo]], [[province of Como]]<!--PLEASE LEAVE THIS SPELLING. "COMO PROVINCE" SOUNDS AWFUL TO AN ITALIAN-->, 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 [[1983 World Championships in Athletics|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.

The 10,000 m final at the [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] Olympics began at an even slower pace than at Helsinki. At the 6&nbsp;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.

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 [[Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|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. In the 1984 Olympics 10,000-metre final, Finland's Martti Vainio picked up the speed shortly before the 6 kilometre mark

==Achievements==
{| class="wikitable sortable" width=60% style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
!Year !!Competition !!Venue !!Position !!Event !!Time !!Notes
|-
|1981
|align=left|[[1981 European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]] (Super League)
|align=left|{{flagicon|YUG}} [[Zagreb]]
|6th
|5000 m
|13:45.48
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1982
|align=left|[[1982 European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]
|align=left|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Milan]]
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|3000 m
|[[1982 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's 3000 metres|7:54.12]]
|
|-
|align=left rowspan=2|[[1982 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|align=left rowspan=2|{{flagicon|GRE}} [[Athens]]
|{{AthAbbr|DSQ}}
|5000 m
|[[1982 European Athletics Championships – Men's 5000 metres|No time]] 
|{{refn|group=N|name=first|He ran in 13:27.65 in heats.}}
|-
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|10,000 m
|[[1982 European Athletics Championships – Men's 10,000 metres|27:41.03]]
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1983
|align=left|[[1983 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|align=left|{{flagicon|FIN}} [[Helsinki]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|10,000 m
|[[1983 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres|28:01.04]]
|{{refn|group=N|name=second|He ran a better crono, 27:46.61, in heats.}}
|-
|align=left rowspan=2|[[1983 European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]] (Super League)
|align=left rowspan=2|{{flagicon|GBR}} [[London]]
|bgcolor=cc9966|3rd
|5000 m
|13:55.59
|
|-
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|10,000 m
|28:02.13
|
|-
|1984
|align=left|[[Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Los Angeles]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|10,000 m
|[[Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|27:47.54]]
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1985
|align=left rowspan=2|[[1985 European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]] (Super League)
|align=left rowspan=2|{{flagicon|URS}} [[Moscow]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|5000 m
|14:05.45
|
|-
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|10,000 m
|28:51.46
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1986
|align=left rowspan=2|[[1986 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|align=left rowspan=2|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Stuttgart]]
|8th
|5000 m
|[[1986 European Athletics Championships – Men's 5000 metres|13:35,86]]
|{{refn|group=N|name=third|He ran a better crono, 13:31,18, in heats.}}
|-
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|10,000 m
|[[1986 European Athletics Championships – Men's 10,000 metres|27:57.93]]
|{{refn|group=N|name=fourth|In that edition of the European Championships Italy conquered all three steps of the podium, with [[Stefano Mei]] 1st and [[Salvatore Antibo]] 3rd.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.european-athletics.org/competitions/european-athletics-championships/history/year=1986/results/index.html|title=EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS - STUTTGART 1986|publisher=european-athletics.org|access-date=27 September 2019}}</ref>
|-
|1988
|align=left|[[Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|align=left|{{flagicon|KOR}} [[Seoul]]
|{{tooltip|Heat|Eliminated in heats}}
|10,000 m
|[[Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|28:43.84]]
|
|}

==National titles==
He won fourteen national championships at senior level.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportolimpico.it/attachments/article/224/CAMPIONI%20ITALIANI-NOMI-U.pdf|title=CAMPIONATI "ASSOLUTI" – UOMINI TUTTI I CAMPIONI – 1906-2016|publisher=sportolimpico.it|access-date=27 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/nc/itai.htm|title=ITALIAN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS|publisher=gbrathletics.com|access-date=27 September 2019}}</ref>

*[[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 medalists|Italy national athletics team - Multiple medalist]]
* [[Athletics in Italy#5000 metres|Italian all-time lists - 5000 metres]]
* [[Athletics in Italy#10,000 metres|Italian all-time lists - 10000 metres]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=N}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{sports links|properties=-P4069}}
* {{CONI profile|new_id=10|old_id=11}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Related
| list1 =
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{{s-sports}}
{{succession box|before={{flagicon|USA}} [[Paul Cummings]]|title=[[Half marathon#Men.27s Seasons Best|Men's Half Marathon Best Year Performance]]|years=1984|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Mark Curp]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 10000 m Men}}
{{Footer World Champions 10000 m Men}}
{{Footer European Champions 10000 m Men}}
{{Footer Mediterranean Champions 5000m Men}}
{{Italian Athletics Champions in men's 5000 m}}
{{Italian Athletics Champions in men's 10000 m}}
{{Italian Athletics Champions in men's cross country}}
{{Italian Athletics Champions in men's indoor 3000 m}}
{{Footer Italy athletics team at the 1984 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Italy athletics team at the 1988 Summer Olympics}}
{{Italian Sportsman of the Year}}
{{Walk of Fame of Italian sport}}
{{authority control}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cova, Alberto}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from the Province of Como]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Italy]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Italy]]
[[Category:Italian men cross country runners]]
[[Category:Italian men long-distance runners]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Italy]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:European Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:European athletics champions for Italy]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Mediterranean Games]]
[[Category:Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:Italian Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian sportsmen]]