No pizza for this Italian shot putter is part of his recipe for Olympic success

PARIS, France — When Leonardo Fabbri went and analyzed what went wrong with his performance at the Tokyo Olympics — where the Italian shot putter missed qualifying for the final by 10 centimeters — he didn’t focus on his bout with COVID-19 or his various injuries that year. Or even his technique.

The answer came when he looked in the mirror.

Weighing in at 330 pounds (150 kilograms), Fabbri realized that his biggest problem was his waistline.

That’s when he decided to drastically change his diet, cutting out pizza entirely — no small sacrifice for an Italian — and limiting his pasta intake.

He lost 55 pounds (25 kilograms) over two years, earned the silver medal at last year’s world championships, gold at the European championships in June and now has designs on challenging Americans Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs at the Paris Games when the men’s shot put competition starts on Friday.

“It’s not easy. I'm trying to eat only vegetables,” Fabbri said. “But when you see the results, you do it more willingly.”

World-record holder Crouser and Kovacs have dominated the shot put for nearly a decade, finishing 1-2 at the past two Olympics. But Fabbri beat Crouser in the final Diamond League meet before the Paris Olympics and has the second-longest mark in the world this year at 22.95 meters.

Weighing in now at 275 pounds (125 kilograms), Fabbri feels like he can maneuver more swiftly as he twists around until the launching point -- thus producing more power.

He still eats six times a day but has only one full meal — at lunch. That meal sometimes includes one of his favorite dishes: Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the Florentine version of steak, similar to a T-bone.

“When I’m in Florence, I never miss that,” said Fabbri, who is from the Renaissance city.

Buddhism and meditation

Fabbri reads books about Buddhism and meditates every morning during competitions.

“They’re things that were introduced to me by my mental coach,” he said.

Fabbri’s athletics coach, Paolo Dal Soglio, finished fourth in the shot put at the 1996 Atlanta Games — missing out on a medal by a centimeter.

“I want to win a medal for Paolo, too,” Fabbri said.

Tokyo inspiration

Former shot put world record holder and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Alessandro Andrei is also from Florence but Fabbri only met him for the first time earlier this year.

Fabbri’s biggest source of inspiration came from watching his teammates perform in other events in Tokyo.

“Up until recently, seeing Italians doing well at the Olympics or a world championship seemed impossible, so when you see a lot of them doing well it makes you realize that it’s something possible and it pushes you even more,” Fabbri said. “It’s a hugely inspiring.”