Lionel Spitz

Last updated

Lionel Spitz
Personal information
NicknameBabyface Killer
Born (2001-01-12) 12 January 2001 (age 23)
Adliswil, Zürich, Switzerland
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
Country Switzerland
Sport Athletics
Event 400 metres
ClubAdliswil Track Team
Coached byAlex Hautle
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
European U23 Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Espoo 400 m

Lionel Spitz (born 12 January 2001) is a Swiss sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. He won a silver medal at the 2023 European U23 Championships. [1] [2] Shortly after, he set a new personal best of 45.25 at the Swiss Championships and also finished in first place at the event, securing his second national title. [3]

Contents

Early life and background

Lionel Spitz was born on 12 January 2001 in Adliswil, a small tow in the canton of Zürich. He began his athletic career at a young age when he joined Adliswil Track Team in 2009. [4] [5] His mother, Lilly Spitz, is the chief coach of the club. [6] [3] He has an older brother, Linus, who runs for the club as well. Lionel remains with Adliswil Track Team, but his trainer is Alex Hautle from LAC TV Unterstrass in Zürich. [7] [3]

He jokingly describes himself as the "Babyface Killer" due to his boyish appearance and how often he gets mistaken for being much younger than he is. Originally, he wrote the name down when he was "too lazy to send [his] biography for the Swiss Athletics site". Ever since, the nickname stuck and has been widely adopted for him. [8] [9]

Career

2017

Spitz made his international debut at the 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival in Győr, Hungary and finished in fourth place in the 400 metres. [10] Then, he took part in the 2017 Swiss U18 Championships and earned the bronze medal after ending the 400 metres in third place.

2018

The following year, he would return to Győr once again to run in the 2018 European Athletics U18 Championships. Although he did not advance to the final rounds in the 400 metres, he still came in sixth place in the medley relay. [11] He earned two additional gold medals for his performance at the 2018 Swiss U18 Championships in the 800 metres and the indoor 400 metres. [12]

2019–2020

Next, he participated in the 2019 Swiss U20 Championships, where he won first place in the indoor and outdoor 400 metres. During the 2020 season, he had yet another successful year. He reclaimed his title at the Swiss U20 Championships and won second place at the Swiss Championships. [13]

2021

He competed in the 2021 Swiss U23 Championships and was undefeated in the 400 metres. Prior to his victory, he came in fourth place at the 2021 Swiss Championships for the indoor and outdoor 400 metres. [13]

He represented Switzerland also at the international level in the 2021 European Team Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania as well as the 2021 European U23 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. He captured sixth place in the 400 metres and fourth place in the relay while at the European Team Championships. [14] Despite his efforts at the European U23 Championships, he did not make it past the semi-finals in the 400 metres, nor did his team finish in the 4 x 400 metres relay. He was supposed to run the anchor leg of the race, however, a commotion caused his teammate to trip before Spitz could be passed the baton. The Swiss had the lead, but then, the Dutch athlete pushed his British competitor who in return tripped the Swiss runner. [15]

2022

He became the Swiss champion for the first time in 2022. Additionally, he finished in second place at the Swiss Indoor Championships. The same year, he attended the 2022 European Championships in Munich, Germany and qualified for the final rounds in the 400 metres. However, the 4 x 400 metres relay group did not finish in the preliminary heat.

2023

Throughout 2023, he was selected for many major events, including the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He competed in the mixed 4 x 400 metres relay and ran the first leg of the race, however, he and his teammates failed to advance to the final rounds. [16]

Previously, he and the entire mixed 4 x 400 metres relay team—comprising Ricky Petrucciani, Giulia Senn, and Julia Niederberger—broke the Swiss record in the category at the 2023 European Team Championships with a time of 3:14.22. Spitz came in tenth place at the event in the 400 metres. [1]

He improved upon his last results at the 2023 European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey by going up three spots from his 13th-place ranking to tenth. As for the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2023 European U23 Championships, they achieved a national U23 record with a time of 3:05.51. [17]

Achievements

Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Personal bests

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTimeNotes
Representing Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
2017 European Youth Olympic Festival Győr, Hungary4th 400 m 50.43
2018 European U18 Championships Győr, Hungary15th (h) 400 m 49.66
6th Medley relay 1:55.98
2021 European Team Championships First League Cluj-Napoca, Romania6th 400 m 47.16
4th 4 x 400 m relay 3:05.31(47.6 split)
European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia16th (sf) 400 m 46.90
— (f) 4 x 400 m relay DNF
2022 European Championships Munich, Germany7th 400 m 45.66
— (h) 4 x 400 m relay DNF
2023 European Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey13th (h) 400 m 46.79
European Team Championships First Division Chorzów, Poland10th 400 m 45.81
8th 4 x 400 m relay mixed 3:14.22 NR
European U23 Championships Espoo, Finland2nd 400 m 45.27 PB
5th 4 x 400 m relay 3:05.51 NU23R
(44.54 split)
World Championships Budapest, Hungary33rd (h) 400 m 45.69
11th (h) 4 x 400 m relay mixed 3:14.398(45.40 split)

National championships

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTimeNotes
2017Swiss U18 Championships Winterthur 3rd400 m50.31
2018Swiss U18 Championships Frauenfeld 1st800 m1:58.89
Swiss U18 Indoor Championships St. Gallen 1st400 m50.68
2019Swiss U20 Championships Winterthur 1st400 m48.63
Swiss U20 Indoor Championships Magglingen 1st400 m50.00
2020Swiss U20 Championships Frauenfeld 1st400 m47.41
Swiss Championships Basel 2nd400 m47.34
2021 Swiss Championships Langenthal 4th400 m46.65
Swiss Indoor Championships Magglingen 4th400 m47.76 PB SB
2022 Swiss Championships Zürich 1st400 m45.71
Swiss Indoor Championships Magglingen 2nd400 m47.33 PB SB
2023 Swiss Championships Bellinzona 1st400 m45.25 PB SB
Swiss Indoor Championships St. Gallen 2nd200 m21.42 PB SB

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Schönlebe</span> German sprinter

Thomas Schönlebe is a retired East German track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres. He won the gold medal at the 1987 World Championships. In that race, he set a European record of 44.33 seconds which stood for 35 years before it was broken by Matthew Hudson-Smith in August 2023.

Matthew John "Matt" Elias is a retired Welsh athlete who specialised in the 400 metres sprint and 400 metres hurdles. During his international career he represented Great Britain. In 2003 he won a gold medal at the European Championships and at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens he finished 5th in the 4 × 400 m relay, He is also a part of Super Schools.

Mark David Hylton is a former British 400 metres sprinter. Hylton won a silver medal in the relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pascal Mancini</span> Swiss sprinter (born 1989)

Pascal Mancini is a Swiss sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres.

Jan Balachowski is a retired Polish sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Kiełbasińska</span> Polish athlete

Anna Kiełbasińska is a Polish sprinter who competed occasionally also in hurdling events. She won the bronze medal in the 400 metres as well as silver medals in the 4 x 100 m and 4 x 400 m relays at the 2022 European Championships. Kiełbasińska earned bronze for the 400 m at the 2023 European Indoor Championships. She won several major medals as part of Polish 4 x 400 m relay teams and also individual medals at European Under-20 and U23 Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakub Krzewina</span> Polish sprinter (born 1989)

Jakub Krzewina is a Polish track and field sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. A frequent competitor for Poland in the 4×400 metres relay, he has won two medals at the European Athletics Championships and reached the final at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was also a relay silver medallist with Europe at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dylan Borlée</span> Belgian sprinter

Dylan Borlée is a Belgian sprinter who competes in the 400 metres. He is a member of the Borlée family.

René Gloor is a retired Swiss long jumper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalia Kaczmarek</span> Polish sprinter (born 1998)

Natalia Kaczmarek is a Polish athlete sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She won the silver medal in the event at the 2022 European Championships. Kaczmarek earned several global medals as part of 4 x 400 m relays, including gold in the mixed event and silver in the women's event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher O'Donnell (athlete)</span> Irish sprinter

Christopher O'Donnell is an Irish track and field athlete competing in sprinting events. He represented Ireland at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the Mixed 4 x 400m relay where he was part of the first ever Irish team to run in an Olympic final, and was also part of the team who reached the final of the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. He is the current Irish U20 record holder in the 400 metres, with a time of 46.54, set on 22 July 2017 at the European U20 Championships, where he finished 6th in the final. His personal best of 45.26 seconds sits joint-2nd on the Irish all-time list and he is a 5-time National 400m champion.

Dany Brand is a Swiss athlete specialising in the 400 metres hurdles. He won a silver medal at the 2017 European U23 Championships in a new national U23 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoë Sedney</span> Dutch hurdler and sprinter

Zoë Frederique Sedney is a Dutch athlete who competes in the hurdles, 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay. Sedney won two gold medals at the 2017 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival. As a senior in 2021, she competed in both the European Indoor Championships and the Summer Olympics. In 2022, she became part of the 4 × 100 metres Dutch relay team, competing together with her older sister Naomi Sedney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Petrucciani</span> Swiss sprinter (born 2000)

Ricky Petrucciani is a Swiss sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. He won a gold medal at the 2021 European U23 Championships and a silver medal at the 2022 European Championships in the 400m category. He also reached the semifinals of the 2020 Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Doom</span> Belgian sprinter (born 1997)

Alexander Doom is a Belgian sprinter specializing in the 400 metres. In 2024, he became the first male athlete to win the individual 400 metres and 4×400 metres relay at the same World Athletics Indoor Championships He has won several medals in international competitions with the Belgian 4 × 400 metres relay team and holds a personal best of 44.92 over the 400 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Reais</span> Swiss sprinter

William Reais is a Swiss sprinter competing primarily in the 200 metres. He competed in the 200 metres at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He also holds the Swiss national indoor record for the same event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Olatunde</span> Irish sprinter

Israel Olatunde is an Irish professional track and field athlete specializing in the sprints. He competed at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships, and reached the final of the 100 metres at the 2022 European Athletics Championships, the first Irishman ever to do so, and where he finished sixth in an Irish record time. He later broke the national record in the 60 metres in 2023.

Matěj Krsek is a Czech sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. He was a bronze medalist in the 4 × 400 metres mixed relay at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Ever since 2020, he has been the national champion in the 400 metres, earning the title four times consecutively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julien Bonvin</span> Swiss hurdler and sprinter (born 1999)

Julien Bonvin is a Swiss sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. He has been the national champion in the 400 metres hurdles ever since 2021, earning the title consecutively three times in a row. He is also the 2023 Swiss champion for the indoor 200 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathias Hove Johansen</span> Norwegian sprinter

Mathias Hove Johansen is a Norwegian sprinter. He represents IL Skjalg, and was the 200 metres Norwegian Athletics Championships winner in 2019 and 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 Broadbent, Chris (26 July 2023). "Switzerland's 'Babyface Killer' Spitz is a man on a mission". European Athletics. European Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  2. Dumont, Floriane (27 July 2023). "ATHLETISME : Le " tueur de babyface " suisse SPITZ, un homme en mission". PA-Sport. Presse Agence. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Greb, Jörg (20 July 2023). "Spitzenleichtathletik Luzern mit Lionel Spitz: "Es muss richtig schmerzen"". Tagesanzeiger. Tamedia. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  4. "Lionel Spitz - Profile". Stathletics. Stat'thletics. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  5. "Bestenliste Adliswil Track Team U10" (PDF). Adliswil Track Team. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  6. "Adliswil Track Team". Adliswil Track Team. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  7. "Trainer Leistungssport". LACTVU. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  8. Bolt, Sylvain (20 August 2023). "Here is the "killer baby" of Swiss athletics". Le Matin. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  9. "Shooting Star Lionel Spitz - Der "Babyface Killer" jagt den Schweizer Rekord". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 19 August 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  10. "Deux 4e places pour Nick Rüegg et Lionel Spitz au FOJE à Györ". Swiss Athletics. Swiss Athletics. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  11. "EAU18 Győr 2018 Results Book" (PDF). European Athletics. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  12. "Erfolgreiche Sportlerinnen und Sportler 2018" (PDF). Adliswil. Stadt Adliswil. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Lionel SPITZ - Profile". World Athletics. World Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  14. Greb, George (20 June 2021). "Lionel Spitz glänzt für die Schweiz". ZSZ (Zürichsee-zeitung). Tamedia. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  15. "Joy, frustration and a great result at the end in Tallinn". Swiss Athletics. Swiss Athletics. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  16. "Four Swiss athletes are happy about qualifying for the semi-finals". Swiss Athletics. Swiss Athletics. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  17. "Euro U23 - Jour 4 - Mumenthaler en BRONZE, le 4×4 féminin en ARGENT !". Athle. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.