Lionel Spitz

Lionel Spitz
Personal information
NicknameBabyface Killer
Born (2001-01-12) 12 January 2001 (age 24)
Adliswil, Zürich, Switzerland
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
CountrySwitzerland
SportAthletics
Event400 metres
ClubAdliswil Track Team
Coached byAlex Hautle
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Switzerland
European U23 Championships
Silver medal – second place 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]

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

Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
Representing  Switzerland
2017 European Youth Olympic Festival Győr, Hungary 4th 400 m 50.43
2018 European U18 Championships Győr, Hungary 15th (h) 400 m 49.66
6th Medley relay 1:55.98
2021 European Team Championships First League Cluj-Napoca, Romania 6th 400 m 47.16
4th 4 x 400 m relay 3:05.31 (47.6 split)
European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia 16th (sf) 400 m 46.90
— (f) 4 x 400 m relay DNF
2022 European Championships Munich, Germany 7th 400 m 45.66
— (h) 4 x 400 m relay DNF
2023 European Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 13th (h) 400 m 46.79
European Team Championships First Division Chorzów, Poland 10th 400 m 45.81
8th 4 x 400 m relay mixed 3:14.22 NR
European U23 Championships Espoo, Finland 2nd 400 m 45.27 PB
5th 4 x 400 m relay 3:05.51 NU23R
(44.54 split)
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 33rd (h) 400 m 45.69
11th (h) 4 x 400 m relay mixed 3:14.398 (45.40 split)
2024 European Championships Rome, Italy 8th 400 m 45.69
– 4 × 400 m relay DQ
Olympic Games Paris, France 10th (rep) 400 m 45.51

National championships

Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2017 Swiss U18 Championships Winterthur 3rd 400 m 50.31
2018 Swiss U18 Championships Frauenfeld 1st 800 m 1:58.89
Swiss U18 Indoor Championships St. Gallen 1st 400 m 50.68
2019 Swiss U20 Championships Winterthur 1st 400 m 48.63
Swiss U20 Indoor Championships Magglingen 1st 400 m 50.00
2020 Swiss U20 Championships Frauenfeld 1st 400 m 47.41
Swiss Championships Basel 2nd 400 m 47.34
2021 Swiss Championships Langenthal 4th 400 m 46.65
Swiss Indoor Championships Magglingen 4th 400 m 47.76 PB SB
2022 Swiss Championships Zürich 1st 400 m 45.71
Swiss Indoor Championships Magglingen 2nd 400 m 47.33 PB SB
2023 Swiss Championships Bellinzona 1st 400 m 45.25 PB SB
Swiss Indoor Championships St. Gallen 2nd 200 m 21.42 PB SB

See also

References

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b "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.