Tottenham residents can cheer on a hometown Olympic hero next week at the Beijing games.
Tottenham native and decathlete Massimo Bertocchi is preparing for his turn at Olympic glory.
Bertocchi is currently in Beijing for the Summer Olympics. He won the berth at the Canadian Olympic Trials in July at the University of Windsor. It was there he beat his personal best in javelin and the 1,500-metre run to earn 8,014 points in the 10-discipline event. He only needed 8,000 to make the Olympic team.
In Beijing, the decathlon starts Aug. 21. It is a two-day event, with five competitions on each day.
The first-time Olympian currently trains at the University of Toronto. The summer was his second Canadian decathlon title.
He is coached by Andy Higgins, who has coached both Olympic-bronze medalist Dave Steen and world championship silver medalist Michael Smith.
The decathlon is made up of a 100-metre sprint, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-metre run, 110-metre hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and a 1,500-metre run. An athlete earns points at each event, which are combined at the end of the events to determine individual scores.
- With files from Torstar
