Daniele Meucci
Encyclopedia
Daniele Meucci is an Italian
athlete who specialises in long-distance running, including track running, cross country
and road running
.
Born in Pisa
, he began competing internationally in 2006 and was fourteen at the European Cup 10000m
and improved to tenth place in the 10,000 metres at the 2006 European Athletics Championships. He won a bronze medal
and a team silver medal
at under-23 level at that year's European Cross Country Championships
, which was held in San Giorgio su Legnano
. The following year he was sixth at the 2007 European Cup 10000m in Ferrara
and won the 10,000 m bronze at the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships
.
He represented Italy on the world stage for the first time in 2008, but he only managed 99th place in the senior race at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
. He had greater success at European level that year, again taking sixth in the European Cup race and finishing twelfth in the senior race at the 2008 European Cross Country Championships
.
Meucci took up road running
in 2009 and was fifth at the Stramilano Half Marathon with a time of 1:02:56. He returned to the track in the summer and took on the shorter 3000 metres
at the 2009 European Team Championships
, winning a bronze medal. Two months later he competed on the global track stage for the first time but he did not progress out of the 5000 metres
heats at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
. Demonstrating his versatility over different surfaces, he was 18th at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
on the streets of Birmingham
in October (recording a personal best 1:02:43) and led the Italians to the team bronze with a ninth place finish at the 2009 European Cross Country Championships
.
The Italian slightly improved his half marathon best with a 1:02:41 run for fifth at the 2010 Roma Ostia Half Marathon, and he ran his first full-length marathon
at the Rome City Marathon
soon after, where he was eleventh overall. He won his first major medal later that year at the 2010 European Athletics Championships. In the men's 10,000 m he headed to the line after winner Mo Farah, but Chris Thompson just pipped Meucci at the line, leaving the Italian with a bronze medal.
The following year he managed only eleventh in the 3000 m at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
He was beaten to the 2011 national title
in the 5000 m by Stefano La Rosa
, but set a personal best in the 10,000 m as a guest at the UK Championships, completing the distance in a time of 27:44.50 minutes. He represented Italy in both long-distance track events at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics
, coming twelfth over 10,000 m and tenth in the 5000 m. After the championships, a half marathon best (1:02:30 hours) came at the Udine Half Marathon and then he was runner-up behind Edwin Soi
at the Giro al Sas
10K race.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
athlete who specialises in long-distance running, including track running, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
and road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
.
Born in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, he began competing internationally in 2006 and was fourteen at the European Cup 10000m
European Cup 10000m
The European Cup 10000m is an annual 10,000 metres race for European athletes which was first held in 1997. The competition is organised by the European Athletics Association and first began as the European 10000 Metres Challenge after the event was removed from the European Cup programme...
and improved to tenth place in the 10,000 metres at the 2006 European Athletics Championships. He won a bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
and a team silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
at under-23 level at that year's European Cross Country Championships
European Cross Country Championships
The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year...
, which was held in San Giorgio su Legnano
San Giorgio su Legnano
San Giorgio su Legnano is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 20 km northwest of Milan....
. The following year he was sixth at the 2007 European Cup 10000m in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
and won the 10,000 m bronze at the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships
2007 European Athletics U23 Championships
The 6th European Athletics U23 Championships was held between 12 and 15 July 2007 in the Gyulai István Athletic Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary.- Men :- Women :-Medal table:-References:General*-External links:**...
.
He represented Italy on the world stage for the first time in 2008, but he only managed 99th place in the senior race at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Holyrood Park at Edinburgh, Scotland on 30 March 2008. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...
. He had greater success at European level that year, again taking sixth in the European Cup race and finishing twelfth in the senior race at the 2008 European Cross Country Championships
2008 European Cross Country Championships
The 15th European Cross Country Championships were held at Brussels in Belgium on 14 December 2008. Serhiy Lebid took his eighth title in the men's competition and Hilda Kibet won the women's race.-Men individual 10.0km:Total 77 competitors-Men teams:...
.
Meucci took up road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
in 2009 and was fifth at the Stramilano Half Marathon with a time of 1:02:56. He returned to the track in the summer and took on the shorter 3000 metres
3000 metres
The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...
at the 2009 European Team Championships
2009 European Team Championships
The first SPAR European Team Championships took place on 20 and 21 June 2009. The track and field athletics tournament run by European Athletics was the successor of the old European Cup competition which was held annually until 2008...
, winning a bronze medal. Two months later he competed on the global track stage for the first time but he did not progress out of the 5000 metres
5000 metres
The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
heats at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
. Demonstrating his versatility over different surfaces, he was 18th at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom on 11 October 2009. It was the final event of the International Association of Athletics Federations' 2009 World Athletics Series.-Organisation:...
on the streets of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in October (recording a personal best 1:02:43) and led the Italians to the team bronze with a ninth place finish at the 2009 European Cross Country Championships
2009 European Cross Country Championships
The 2009 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that was held on 13 December 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. Dublin was selected as the host city in 2007 and the event was the first time that a major European athletics championships took place in Ireland...
.
The Italian slightly improved his half marathon best with a 1:02:41 run for fifth at the 2010 Roma Ostia Half Marathon, and he ran his first full-length marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
at the Rome City Marathon
Rome City Marathon
The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy on a Sunday of March.The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the traditional March schedule to 1 January in 2000...
soon after, where he was eleventh overall. He won his first major medal later that year at the 2010 European Athletics Championships. In the men's 10,000 m he headed to the line after winner Mo Farah, but Chris Thompson just pipped Meucci at the line, leaving the Italian with a bronze medal.
The following year he managed only eleventh in the 3000 m at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 31st European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011.A record high of 630 athletes, representing 46 countries, were entered into the three-day competition. Twenty-six track and field events were contested at the...
He was beaten to the 2011 national title
2011 Italian Athletics Championships
2011 Italian Athletics Championships were held in Turin on 25–26 June 2011.- Men :- Women :...
in the 5000 m by Stefano La Rosa
Stefano La Rosa
Stefano La Rosa is an Italian long distance runner.-Achievements:-References:...
, but set a personal best in the 10,000 m as a guest at the UK Championships, completing the distance in a time of 27:44.50 minutes. He represented Italy in both long-distance track events at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics
2011 World Championships in Athletics
The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011....
, coming twelfth over 10,000 m and tenth in the 5000 m. After the championships, a half marathon best (1:02:30 hours) came at the Udine Half Marathon and then he was runner-up behind Edwin Soi
Edwin Soi
Edwin Cheruiyot Soi is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 and 5000 metres.His earliest honours were team gold medals with Kenya at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2006 and 2007...
at the Giro al Sas
Giro al Sas
The Giro al Sas, also known as the Giro Podistico di Trento, is an annual 10-kilometre road running competition for men which takes place in October in the city of Trento, Italy....
10K race.
External links
- Athlete profile at FIDALFidalFidal is a French business law firm with over 1200 lawyers, and one of the top 100 largest law firms by revenue....
- In-depth article from IAAF