The untimely passing of Donato Sabia from the deadly COVID-19 virus shocked not only Italian sport but also the Maltese athletics community last week.
The 56-year-old died in a hospital in Potenza after contracting coronavirus when he was taking care of his parents, who both were also diagnosed with the disease.
Sabia was regarded as one of the most talented runners in the Italian track and field scene. He will always be remembered in Italy after winning the 800m gold medal in the European Indoor Championships and reached the final in two successive Olympics, Los Angeles 1984 and in Seoul four years later.
However, he managed to leave his mark also off the track when in 1998 he agreed to come to Malta, through the Olympic Solidarity Scholarships, to train a group of promising athletes that included Mario Bonello, Xandru Grech, Deirdre Caruana and Fabio Spiteri among others.
“Donato was a unique person,” Bonello told The Sunday Times of Malta.
“It was truly a blessing to cross into his path in 1998 when he was offered the chance to coach me and other Maltese athletes who were preparing for the 1999 Small Nations Games in Liechtenstein.
“I had just been awarded an IOC Solidarity Scholarship through the Maltese Olympic Committee. At the time I was also being coached by one of Donato’s former coaches, Profs. Antonio Laguardia.
“Sabia was offered the chance to coach me and the other Maltese athletes. In fact, he spent three full years in Malta working with the best talent on the island which included Xandru Grech, Deirdre Caruana, Fabio Spiteri and many more.
“There is no doubt that he inspired all these athletes who today are now pilasters of the local coaching community.”
Initially, Sabia joined the track team in Potenza in a bid to improve his speed for his hopes of making a breakthrough in his football career.
However, he immediately fell in love with the ‘Queen of Sports’ as he managed to set a new Italian junior record in the 400 metres event.
At the age of 18 he joined the famous training squad in Formia which included some top sprinters such as the late Pietro Mennea, the former world 200m record holder, Stefano Tilli and Mauro Ziliani. The team was coached by Profs. Carlo Vittori.
His duel with the Brazilian Joaquim Cruz started way back in 1980 at the
Student Games where Donato had to settle for second place in 48.38 seconds behind the Brazilian (48.03). This rivalry had to see other duels over the following decade particularly at the Olympics of Los Angeles and Seoul.
In 1984, at the young age of 21, he went on to win the European Indoor Championships and also finished fifth at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
In that same year he also set his best time for the 800m of 1:43.88, the third best time by any Italian till today, and 45.73sec for the 400m.
Also, that year, he set a world best time in the unusual distance of 500m, setting a time of 60.08 seconds. It took almost 30 years for this time to be bettered in 2013.
Over the next few years, Sabia had various injury problems but in 1988 he came back at the Olympics to make the final in the 800m, placing seventh.
Bonello said that Sabia’s strong stance against doping also stood out in his career.
“Due to his recurring injuries, he was offered ‘assistance’ to recover in time for the Rome worlds in 1987,” Bonello said.
“Indeed, he put his foot down and refused, being called a ‘poor rabbit’ by members of the Italian Federation. This upset him greatly and went public saying that he was only scared of the unsporting acts of doping and not his opponents.
“This created a huge outcry in Italy and beyond, with his then coach Alessandro Donati eventually taking on the fight against doping all by himself on the world scene.”
As regards Sabia’s influence on Maltese athletics since his arrival in 1998, Bonello, winner of several medals for Malta at the GSSE, said that the Italian great played a key role in the resurgence of track and field sport in our country.
“Under his guidance, the level of athletics in Malta rose sharply particularly at the Games of the Small States of Europe of 1999 and 2001 where his athletes won a large number of medals,” Bonello said.
“He was also the national coach who headed the team, formed by Sue Spiteri and myself, to the Sydney Olympic Games of 2000.
“His main mantra was that there was no cutting of corners, and success was to be achieved only through hard work.”
Sabia’s priorities
Bonello said that for Sabia, his athletes and family were more important than his pride of being an ex-world class runner and an Italian star.
He reminisces an incident that happened in 2000 when his contract was cut abruptly due to lack of funds.
“I remember discussing with him a very delicate situation at the end of 2000, when funds were cut short and his contract was abruptly terminated,” Bonello said.
“He was not willing to leave his athletes without a coach for the upcoming 2001 GSSE in San Marino for which we had prepared for two years. He was ready to stay on up to the Games for a minimum amount of money that would see him and his family through those months.
“So we devised a plan in which we (his athletes) paid up a small amount of money monthly to reach that amount and with additional assistance from the MAAA we made it through.
“He even had to make do with a very old two-seater van we managed to salvage, bolting in a car seat for his young daughter to be able to sit in, on family drives.
“Indeed, his athletes and family were more important than his pride as an ex-world class runner.”
Bonello said that Donato Sabia will always be remembered as a man of great principles and always with a smile on his face.
“Donato will surely be remembered for his smile even in times of trouble, his love for his family and friends and for being a gentleman in his decisions and actions,” Bonello said.
“He carried a very particular smile on his face and was always looking for that joke or battuta with his close friends. Otherwise he did not speak much to outsiders.
“Unfortunately, he has left us, but his legacy in Maltese athletics will live on forever.”