Meet Italian ‘Spider Man’ Mattia Furlani: Born to jump

Imagine starting a new athletics discipline and being able to aim for a world record in your age category after only 18 months of training. 

That is exactly what Italy’s emerging sensation Mattia Furlani has done AND he has even managed to wow the global athletics scene with his jumping versatility in two different events.

“I was born as a high jumper because my father was a former high jumper and he taught me how to jump. He passed on his passion to me, so naturally, I developed a liking for high jumping. I have always been a high jumper,” said the 18-year-old, nicknamed Spider Man by his friends due to his resemblance to Miles Morales, the fictional character from Marvel’s famous franchise.

After gradually exploring long jumping, Furlani began taking the new discipline more seriously. In the first indoor event of 2022, even without any prior specific preparation, he leapt to 7.47m, securing Italy’s second-best U18 mark.

“From there, the combo high-jump-long-jump was born,” he said.

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Furlani: Soaring to a wind-assisted 8.44m

The Italian jumper continued to excel in both events. In July last year, he was crowned double U-18 European champion.

As he combined long and high jump once again at the U20 World Champs in Cali, Colombia, his focus progressively shifted from the bar towards the sand pit: “I realised that I had plenty of room for improvement and greater opportunities for success in competitions,” he added.

On 24 May, the precocious Italian astonished the athletics world in Savona when he jumped to a phenomenal 8.44m, the longest mark ever recorded by an U-20 athlete under any weather conditions.

Unfortunately, this remarkable leap could not be officially recognised as a record due to the wind slightly exceeding the legal limit at 2.2 m/s.

However, just ten days later in Hengelo, the Rieti-born teenager once again showcased his exceptional abilities. Despite facing a headwind of 0.7m/s, he soared to a new Italian U-20 record with an 8.24m leap, surpassing the 8.11m-mark that had earned Andrew Howe a gold medal at the 2004 World U-20 Championships in Grosseto.

José Mourinho: Mattia Furlani's dream mental coach

Athletics runs in the DNA of the Furlani family.

Mattia’s father Marcello achieved a personal best of 2.27m in high jump, while his mother Khaty Seck – who has a Senegalese heritage - competed as a sprinter in the 100m and 200m.

The couple is coaching their three kids: Mattia and his older siblings Erika and Luca, who focus on high jump and long jump respectively.

“The passion for athletics was born naturally, precisely because it was the primary sport practised at home. Of course, I also played other sports, like basketball, which allowed me to improve my coordination, especially for jumping,” the Italian shared.

Initially, Furlani mixed both jumps and sprints, competing in distances ranging form 60m to 100m, where he achieved a PB of 10.64 seconds.

“My dad ignited my passion, but mamma is the one who moulded me as an athlete in the discipline of jumps,” admitted Mattia.

“She’s everything to me. She trains me, she plans my programmes, she doesn't sleep at night for me. She has developed me, raised me, formed me, so to speak. I owe everything I am now to my mum. She is the primary fundamental piece of my career at the moment.”

A devoted AS Roma fan, Furlani expressed his desire to bolster his coaching team with a prestigious addition: giallorossi manager José Mourinho.

“He is the coach of my dreams,” the 18-year-old confessed. “To me, he is a brilliant psychologist, and it would be really cool to have him on board, perhaps as a mental coach!”

Mattia Furlani's love for jumping

Furlani's passion for athletics covers all its aspects. His role model in the sport comes from a discipline that he doesn't even practise.

“For me (Armand) 'Mondo' Duplantis is a source of inspiration. He is an exceptional individual, both on and off the field, a very humble guy. Even if I have nothing to do with pole vaulting, Duplantis is the perfect model of an athlete that should be taken as an example,” he said.

Why is he so fond of all jumping disciplines?

“It’s precisely the feeling of flying that exists in long jump, high jump and even in pole vault. Unlike other disciplines, jumping is a bit more complete. It’s not just about pure speed or solely throwing, it’s power combined with speed which is not common in every sport and this exclusive combo is what I love.”

Although tempted to compete in both high jump and long jump at the upcoming U-20 European Championships in Jerusalem (7-10 August), Mattia believes that combining the two events is too risky.

His friend, JuVaughn Harrison from the United States, also known as ‘Mr. Jumps’, reached both finals at Tokyo 2020. However, the Italian doesn’t consider him as the example to follow: “Harrison does it, but I disagree with his approach,” Furlani pointed out.

“These disciplines are both very technical and injuries are always around the corner. Prevention is crucial in long jump and high jump because the take-off phase and the impact on the ground can be truly traumatic. So, one must preserve oneself by focusing on a single discipline, which currently is long jump.”

Furlani: When I met Mike Powell…

The Italian can rely on the unwavering support of Gianmarco Tamberi, who shared a gold medal in high jump with Mutaz Barshim at Tokyo 2020.

“Gimbo really believes in me and he often reaches out on social media,” Furlani revealed.

“I am glad for his high regard for me, and I hope to continue blossoming even more to make both him and Italian athletics happy.”

Both athletes recently contributed to Italy’s success at the 2023 European Team Championships in Chorzow, Poland: Tamberi claimed victory in the high-jump event, while Furlani finished second with a leap of 7.97m, just behind Olympic long jump champion Miltiadis Tentoglou.

While Tamberi and world silver medallist Sang-yeok Woo are his favourite high jumpers, Furlani looks up to Cuba's 2000 Olympic champion Ivan Pedroso in the long jump discipline: “He’s the jumper who has come closest to technical perfection,” he said.

Last year in Cali, the young Italian had the opportunity to meet Mike Powell, whose world record of 8.95m has remained unbroken since 1991.

“Mike is Mike. He came and complimented me after my results in Jerusalem. He told me that I have developed well and have the ability to jump really far. He advised me to stay on my path and focus on that,” he recalled.

Mattia Furlani: Targeting the U-20 long jump world record

The 18-year-old is steadily honing his long jump technique, adopting a 16-step run-in, and he continues to make an impression in competitions. In a recent meet held in Palermo, Italy, he launched himself to a remarkable 8.04m on his first attempt of the day.

“I’ve been working in the right way and technically I have improved over time,” he said.

“I need to wait for my natural physical growth. Unlike sports like swimming, where a 16-year-old can be competitive at senior level, in athletics you can’t achieve certain results if you haven’t reached a biological and physiological development.”

Furlani's primary objective now is to break the U-20 world record of 8.35m, set by Russian jumper Sergey Morgunov in 2012.

“Actually, it’s crucial to differentiate between the achievements in youth competitions and senior competitions. So even if some people may not attach much importance to winning an European U-18 title, securing youth medals is really important, particularly when considering overall growth and development.”

With the impressive results he has achieved in a mere 18 months, Furlani's ascent in the sport promises to be truly exciting.